


Three Is The Magic Number

by Sodamnbored



Series: Sebaek College AU [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 06:00:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18204461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sodamnbored/pseuds/Sodamnbored
Summary: "So there he was: sharing his not-boyfriend, Jongin, with his frenemy, Kyungsoo, in an uncomfortably close to celibate three-way relationship. It certainly wasn’t how he’d expected his Junior year to go."Chanyeol wants Jongin. Kyungsoo wants Jongin. Jongin is trying very hard to be inclusive.





	Three Is The Magic Number

**Author's Note:**

> This is a follow up from the Sebaek fic I'd written. You don't have to read that to read this, but some things might make more sense or tie in better if you do.

   This year’s Booty Hunt was off to a great start already. It was only the first day back but both Chanyeol and Baekhyun had managed to weed out the best talent the new year had to offer. Even better, their chosen targets were friends with each other; meaning the two freshmen were almost always together, so Chanyeol and Baekhyun could be effective full-time wingmen for each other while still putting the moves on their own guy.

   Baekhyun had taken an interest in the dark-haired boy, Sehun. Chanyeol could admit that he was good looking, seemed to have a fast-enough tongue to match Baekhyun and had one hell of an ass on him. It didn’t surprise him at all that Sehun had caught Baekhyun’s eye. Sehun was just his type.

   Chanyeol liked Sehun; he seemed fun. But he didn’t hold a candle to Jongin in Chanyeol’s opinion. Jongin was without doubt the cutest boy Chanyeol had ever seen. He was flawless; perfection incarnate. He had soft light brown hair that always sat just right. He was a good height for his age but still a good bit shorter than Chanyeol. Chanyeol didn’t tend to meet many people that were taller than him to be fair, but that was alright. He liked being taller than those he dated. He enjoyed being able to pick them up, seeing them smile up at him and near enough enveloping them when he gave them a hug. Especially when they were particularly cute. Jongin also had the most wonderful big, warm, brown eyes Chanyeol had ever seen and he loved the way they twinkled when the younger smiled.

   The third boy in the little group of freshmen was Zitao, though he liked to be called Tao. He was also good looking with brown hair shaved close at the sides and floppy at the front. He had little dark circles under his eyes that Chanyeol likened to a panda and thought they added to his charm. From looking at him, Chanyeol had assumed he’d be the type to play it real cool and tough but after talking to him for a while he realised he was pretty much just a little ball of fluff. Tao was a little shy at first, nervous that he’d forget how to say what he wanted in Korean or would mispronounce it as he was still perfecting his understanding of the language. He seemed more relaxed and confident, however, after Chanyeol told him he had other Chinese friends that he could meet if he wanted to.

   He’d felt a little bad at first that he and Baekhyun were constantly hitting on Jongin and Sehun while Tao was there as well, so he made a special effort to balance his advances on Jongin with giving Tao some friendly attention as well.

   Currently he was doing a pretty stand up job of entertaining both boys as they walked the campus grounds. Baekhyun had drifted off to the side a little with Sehun, no doubt doing everything he could to charm the pants off the younger. They’d been giving the trio a tour of the grounds, as it’s their first day and all. The tour was just wrapping up in time for lunch. What better way to finish a tour than with a lunch date?

   “So boys,” Chanyeol began anew, clapping them both on the shoulder happily. “Assuming you don’t have any better plans, how about you join Baekhyun and I for lunch?”

   Jongin immediately looked sheepish again. He was so shy it was adorable.

   “O-oh, well we don’t want to take up all your time when you’ve already been so nice to us,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck hesitantly. “I mean, you’ve already spent most of your morning showing us around. You must be getting pretty sick of us.”

   Jongin finished up with an awkward little half-laugh and Chanyeol wanted to pinch his cheeks he was so cute.

   “Not at all,” he waved the younger off easily. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I’ll introduce you to the whole gang. It’s good to meet lots of people on the first day, right? And getting in with the older kids couldn’t hurt. You’d like to meet my friends, wouldn’t you Tao? The ones I mentioned earlier?”

   Tao nodded eagerly back at him. “Yeah, that’d be great! Jongin?”

   Tao looked to Jongin imploringly and it seemed he was as soft on Tao as Chanyeol was on Jongin, because he melted within seconds.

   “Sure then. If you’re sure it’s not an imposition,” Jongin conceded.

   Chanyeol grinned at them, patting Jongin’s back happily and ruffling Tao’s hair proudly. Thank God for Tao’s puppy dog eyes. He liked this kid.

   “It’ll be fun to meet your friends. If they’re anything like you and Baekhyun I bet we’ll really like them,” continued Tao conversationally.

   “Thank you, Tao, points for you. Flattery will get you everywhere in our group,” winked Chanyeol with a laugh.

   _‘And points for me,’_ he thought proudly. _‘I’m awesome. These kids totally love me.’_

   “And it’ll be nice to spend some more time with you too,” added Jongin quietly, before blushing slightly and hastily adding, “and Baekhyun of course.”

   Chanyeol beamed down at Jongin, who was keeping his eyes fixed firmly ahead. _‘Double points for me.’_

   “Hey guys, what’d I miss?” asked Sehun, as he fell into step beside Tao, hooking an arm casually around his shoulders.

   “We’re going to meet Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s friends,” beamed Tao happily.

   “We were invited to have lunch with them. You wanna?” asked Jongin.

   “Mm,” hummed Sehun, eyes momentarily flashing back to Baekhyun who was still a little way off, staring after him after the younger’s abrupt exit. He grinned back at Jongin with a gleam in his eye. “Sure. Sounds fun.”

   Chanyeol snickered to himself. Looked like he and Baekhyun were both doing pretty well this year.

 

***

  

   Lunch went well, Chanyeol thought, but it could have gone better. It went better for some than for others at least. Sehun had settled in next to Baekhyun and seemed to be mixing with everyone quite well. Baekhyun was looking perfectly pleased the whole time too. Chanyeol was pleased that his best friend was getting on so well.

   Tao was way down at the other end of the table from him. When they’d first arrived Chanyeol introduced him to Luhan, Kris and Yixing as promised. Tao had instantly gotten comfortable with them and taken a particular interest in Kris. The others seemed to hit it off well with the younger as well. Chanyeol was glad everyone was getting along so nicely.

   Well, that’s not entirely true. There were two people he wished hadn’t gotten along _so_ well. He had hoped that Jongin would sit next to him as Sehun had with Baekhyun. It had seemed like a given. Chanyeol was basically the only person at the table Jongin knew so of course he would want to stay beside him. Or so he had thought. Instead, Jongin had taken a seat at the end of the table next to Kyungsoo.

   Chanyeol had attempted not to be too bitter about the seating arrangements. He supposed to a certain extent that it had been his own fault. He should have sat Jongin down beside Baekhyun and Sehun right away so he could sit on his other side after introducing Tao to everybody. He simply hadn’t thought to do so.

   It wasn’t as though he could leave Tao by himself however. Somebody had to make sure he was happy and settled and making friends. It wouldn’t have been fair to the poor kid to expect him to wander up to complete strangers – older, intimidating strangers, no less – and try to insert himself into their group. Plus, he would have had no way of knowing which members of the group were the ones he was most interested to meet. Baekhyun had been too focused on Sehun to worry about it, so Chanyeol had taken it upon himself to lead the timid freshman over and get him welcomed and comfortable.

   He had expected to go back to his own end of the table and sit with Jongin who he’d presumed would have been waiting for him. What he hadn’t realised was that when he’d taken Tao over to meet the others, he’d inadvertently left Jongin standing awkwardly by the edge of the table all alone.

   That was a bit of a shitty thing to do but Chanyeol really hadn’t meant to do it. By the time he’d come back, Jongin had settled down next to Kyungsoo and Chanyeol didn’t think it was particularly good form to interrupt the conversation the two had tentatively started to ask Jongin to come and sit with him instead.

   He figured it was good that they were talking, good that they seemed to like each other. He had wanted everybody to like Jongin after all – to like all three of them. He’d wanted Jongin and the other boys to like his friends too, hoped to bring them into the group. So he should be happy that Kyungsoo is smiling now as he talks, seeming happier and more comfortable with the newest addition to their group. He should be happy that Jongin is laughing at what Kyungsoo is saying, starting to feel like a part of the group. He should be happy with all of it. But he isn’t.

   Chanyeol can’t stop the little twist in his stomach that he thinks might be jealously when he sees the two getting closer. He can’t stop watching them closely, just waiting for the slightest break in conversation, the first awkward silence, any chance at all for him to jump in. The chance never came. The two just kept going, everything coming to them easily from the first word. There were no lulls, no gaps, no opportunity for Chanyeol to try and edge into the conversation. Even if he could, he felt like he would only ruin their momentum with his input at this point.

   They weren’t purposely leaving him out, he knew that. They were just having a good time. Chanyeol should feel good about that; it was what he had wanted from the start, for everybody to get to know each other and enjoy themselves. He had simply assumed that he would be included in that, particularly where Jongin was concerned.

   Of course, Chanyeol was involved here and there. It wasn’t like he just sat there quietly for the whole of the lunch break. He was Park Chanyeol: outgoing, loud and talkative. It was hard for him _not_ to get involved any conversations happening around him. So he still interjected some points from time to time. It just seemed that each time he got involved, it never took long until he somehow seemed to naturally fall out of it again while the other two boys continued. Jongin, bless him, did occasionally seem to keep realising that he and Kyungsoo had gotten caught up talking about something that Chanyeol wasn’t very involved in and would quickly make a conscious effort to turn back to Chanyeol and rope him back into the discussion.

   Chanyeol knew Jongin was a precious golden child from the beginning but the youngers efforts made him cherish Jongin even more. By the end of the break everyone had seemed to have hit it off really well. Numbers had been exchanged all round – well, nearly all round. Sehun had refused to give Baekhyun his number until the elder had earned it apparently. The three younger boys had been invited into group chats, though of course Sehun avoided any involving Baekhyun in order to protect the privacy of his number much to Baekhyun’s dismay. It seemed to go without saying that all twelve of them would make a habit out of getting together like this. It felt right having all of them together.

   So at the end of the break Chanyeol couldn’t really bring himself to be all that disappointed anymore. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do; Baekhyun and Sehun seemed to have made progress in their own way; and now that Jongin and Kyungsoo had spent all that time getting to know each other it would hopefully be pretty much out of their systems now and Chanyeol would have Jongin’s undivided attention once more from here on out. Right?

  

***

 

   Over the next few days, Chanyeol had kept close by Jongin whenever he had some free time in his schedule to spend with the younger. To his delight, Jongin did not seem to mind his clinginess one bit. He was always ready to come meet Chanyeol and spend some time together between classes. Even when the younger had already committed to hanging out with Sehun and Tao, Chanyeol always received an invitation to join them. Of course, it helped that both Sehun and Tao loved him as well. He couldn’t fault them for it – he was just a naturally awesome and likeable guy. Everybody liked him. It was a gift.

   Chanyeol was a little put out by the fact that each day at lunch Jongin would sit across from him with Kyungsoo by his side. It seemed Jongin had adopted it as his usual seat. Each day Chanyeol would keep valiantly pushing his way back into their conversations any time they began to leave him behind, vying for the younger’s attention.

   Kyungsoo had certainly seemed to take an unexpected liking to Jongin. He was always popping up out of nowhere to speak to him or drag him off somewhere while Chanyeol was busy putting the moves on the younger. It was maddening.

   Frustratingly, Chanyeol had also noticed an increase in the number of times he’d call Jongin asking to meet up only to be told that the younger was already busy with Kyungsoo. Sometimes it was Sehun, Tao and Kyungsoo; sometimes a few of the other boys were thrown into the mix; but more and more Kyungsoo was becoming a constant around Jongin. Often now, when Chanyeol was already with Jongin, sooner or later the younger’s phone would start lighting up and it was almost always Kyungsoo on the other end trying to steal him away.

   Chanyeol knew it was petty and all but he took immense satisfaction each time he watched Jongin inform Kyungsoo _“ah, I’m actually with Chanyeol right now.”_ Of course, most times with Jongin being the sweet kind of guy he was, he would inevitably follow up with _“but you can join us if you want.”_ Honestly, Chanyeol didn’t _love_ that idea but more often than not Kyungsoo would politely decline,

   Perhaps Chanyeol was being a little over-protective or a _tiny_ bit possessive of Jongin. It was very nice that Kyungsoo wanted to be his friend too, truly. But Kyungsoo had plenty of other friends to hang out with already. Chanyeol was trying to make something magical happen here and Kyungsoo’s near constant interruptions weren’t helping. Chanyeol was talking about love here. Kyungsoo could be Jongin’s friend – best friend, even – as much as he wanted _after_ Chanyeol had sealed the deal and won Jongin’s heart. Right now Kyungsoo’s attempts to hang out with his boyfriend-to-be were simply slowing the wheels of romance and getting in his way. Jongin didn’t need to be distracted right now. He needed to focus entirely on Chanyeol so he would understand how the elder felt about him.

   That was why Chanyeol made the most of any time he got to spend with Jongin, just the two of them. Or at the very least, without Kyungsoo.

   Chanyeol had spent his free period with Jongin today just sitting around on the grass in the courtyard. They’d talked, joked, relaxed. It was nice. Pretty perfect actually. This was what Chanyeol needed. Some time alone with Jongin to romance him. Chanyeol hadn’t thought that he’d been especially subtle with his flirting. Pick-up lines were more of Baekhyun’s specialty, while Chanyeol was a classic romancer at heart. But a move is a move and he thought he was making it entirely obvious that he was interested in Jongin. Everyone else seemed to get it clearly enough. Everyone but Jongin anyway.

   Chanyeol hadn’t thought for a moment that Jongin was inexperienced. How could anyone that looked as good as Jongin not have used it to his advantage a few times? So the younger definitely couldn’t be clueless…but he was perhaps just a little bit oblivious to flirtation. Jongin never gave much indication as to whether or not he was interested in Chanyeol’s advances at all.

   Sometimes though, Jongin would just give him a certain look. It was hard to describe; Chanyeol had once spent a good fifteen minutes trying to explain it to Baekhyun though he gave up when he realised Baekhyun wasn’t really getting it. Though Baekhyun had caught the look a few days later, recognising it straight away and sending Chanyeol a sly, knowing grin and a nod of encouragement.

   It was just the vaguest little smile and something in his eyes. Chanyeol thought it was mostly in his eyes. They’d get all soft and warm and there was something else in them that Chanyeol couldn’t quite define. It was nice whatever it was.

   Jongin would give him that look from time to time, often when they were alone or slightly separate from anyone else they were with. It was an inherently private look, meant only for Chanyeol in those moments. Sometimes it would be after something Chanyeol had said that had made Jongin laugh, other times it was after Chanyeol had given him something or tried to be thoughtful in some way. Every time it made Chanyeol’s breath catch and he’d wonder if it meant Jongin might be interested in him after all. He hoped so. He had never seen Jongin look at Tao or Sehun like that. He couldn’t remember anyone else ever looking at him like that either, so it must be something special right?

   But Jongin had never given him that look when Kyungsoo was around. Because Kyungsoo was a distraction. So it became apparent to Chanyeol that he needed some time to win Jongin over and make it undeniably clear how he felt while Kyungsoo wasn’t around to distract the younger.

   Chanyeol had been given the opportunity today with his free period. It was the first time in a while that it had been just the two of them. It was also the first time in a long time that Kyungsoo hadn’t been near and had not been mentioned. When a natural pause came up in the conversation, Chanyeol took his chance.

   “Hey Jongin, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow night, do you maybe wanna hang out? We could watch a movie or something. I’m sure I could get Baekhyun out of the apartment for a couple hours so you could come over,” he asked. He was calm, cool and collected. Outwardly, he was totally causal but inside his gut was clenching tightly as the risk of rejection. But Jongin didn’t need to know that part.

   Jongin smiled up at him and his hopes soared – but then almost immediately Jongin’s smile faltered a bit and Chanyeol’s hope just about died. Chanyeol’s mind went straight to the worst-case scenario. Jongin must have been about to accept being oblivious to the fact that it was intended as a date, thinking it was just as friends. Then the penny dropped – who doesn’t get that a movie is a classic first date, right? – and now he was going to reject Chanyeol brutally explaining he just doesn’t like him that way.

   “Oh, well I’d love to, but I already sort of had plans to hang out with Kyungsoo tomorrow night,” replied Jongin, looking apologetic and possibly just a little disappointed about the double booking.

   Goddammit, Kyungsoo again? Doesn’t that boy have a life? He is literally always with Jongin nowadays.

   “But maybe you could join us – just if you wanted to, that is,” continued Jongin brightening up again at the idea. “You could come over to my apartment and we could all watch something together.”

   Chanyeol chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. It wouldn’t be a date but he’d still get to spend time with Jongin which was always a plus. Kyungsoo would be there but they’d be watching a movie so it wasn’t as though anyone would be getting more attention than anybody else, or anybody feeling left out. And Jongin looked so excited now, beaming away like that.

   Chanyeol didn’t think there was anyone in the world with the heart to say no to that face. Well, Kris could probably give it a good try but Kris was kind of an asshole sometimes so that didn’t really count.

   “Okay, that sounds fun,” agreed Chanyeol, pleased to have made Jongin happy.

   It _would_ be fun. He’d wanted a date but he could try for that again some other time. Tomorrow he’d just have a nice night with his friends. After all, Kyungsoo and he _were_ friends. It’d be fine.

 

***

 

   Kyungsoo was trying very hard to remember that Chanyeol was his friend. And it was rude to get pissed at your friends and throw them out of somebody else’s home. But Chanyeol had been getting on his nerves for a while now.

   It had started the very first day back at school. They’d all met up as usual before classes started; relaxing in the courtyard, watching all the freshmen nervously running around looking lost and intimidated.

   In keeping with their yearly tradition, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had stepped up to survey the crowds in some ridiculous game they’d invented. Really, it was just an excuse to seek out new people they wanted to sleep with that year. Jongdae always got involved as well, though he’d been known to deny it from time to time. They always made such a big deal out of it and the rest of the group tended to just leave them to it, watching their attempts at flirting in amusement.

   Kyungsoo had been sitting quietly, not really paying attention to Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s mutterings, eyes roaming the crowds of people with only mild interest. After a while, he’d found his eyes settling on a group of three boys who were huddled together on the edge of the courtyard. He was just simply watching them for something to do but eventually found a strange sort of fascination with them.

   Not long after his eyes had found the trio, the commotion Chanyeol and Baekhyun were causing as they argued over something finally registered with Kyungsoo. He realised, with some surprise, that they were actually discussing the same boys he himself had been taken with. Listening properly now, Kyungsoo found that Chanyeol was particularly focused on the shortest of the three freshmen; the one in the longer coat with a messenger bag over his shoulder, strap clutched tightly in his hands. The boy Kyungsoo had been watching the closest.

   It seemed that Chanyeol had been warding Baekhyun off of making a move on the boy. Chanyeol quickly realised that he’d misunderstood and that Baekhyun had actually been showing interest in one of the other boys from the start. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. They always made things so much more difficult than it had to be.

   “Well I’m behind you one hundred percent buddy. You go for it. And uh, seeing as you have no interest in his cute little friend there, it’s cool if I have him, right?” Chanyeol asked with a big grin.

   Kyungsoo frowned a bit at that. You can’t just ask to _have_ someone like that. Never mind, Chanyeol’s fairly abrupt (and completely hypocritical) change of heart. He had literally _just_ been explaining why Baekhyun couldn’t go and hit on the kid.

   Baekhyun threw his arm around Chanyeol with a matching grin. “Sure bro, we’ll double date! Couldn’t make a move without my wingman after all.”

   Kyungsoo reluctantly looked away from the three boys but not before giving Chanyeol’s oblivious back a hard glare. That idiot was acting like he was just entitled to that boy. Like he’s the only one who thought he was handsome or had taken any notice of him. Maybe the guy already had a boyfriend. Maybe he was straight. Hah, it’d serve Chanyeol right if the kid was straight.

   Later that same day, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had come to meet them all for lunch with a trio of younger boys in tow. With a little surprise, Kyungsoo saw that it was the same trio from earlier that morning.

   One of the boys sat down immediately at the middle of the table beside Baekhyun. He was introduced as Sehun. Chanyeol quickly lead another boy to the other end of the table, making introductions and finding the kid a seat. The third boy had been left to hover awkwardly at the edge of the table, near Kyungsoo, looking small and lost. Kyungsoo realised that it was the boy everyone had been making a fuss over this morning, the one with the long coat and the messenger bag. Up close like this, Kyungsoo could definitely admit that he did have a pretty cute face.

   The boy was fiddling apprehensively with the strap of his bag, wide eyes staring helplessly after Chanyeol and the other boy who had just abandoned him. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else right now, too anxious to take a seat in case it was somebody else’s. Kyungsoo assumed he must be waiting for Chanyeol to come back for him.

   Just like that, Kyungsoo was mad at Chanyeol. You don’t bring somebody into a group of strangers and leave them alone right away. That’s just plain rude. Kyungsoo felt a pang of sympathy for this poor kid who was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anybody. It seemed he would rather go completely unnoticed until Chanyeol was back.

   The boy’s eyes flicked up suddenly and caught Kyungsoo watching him, perhaps he’d felt the elder’s eyes on him. The brunet looked down at his shoes immediately, cheeks getting redder the longer he was left standing there. He probably just wanted Kyungsoo to stop looking at him and ignore him like the others. Kyungsoo could be a bit socially awkward around strangers as well and felt like he understand how the kid was feeling.

   “Hey – uh, hello,” Kyungsoo tried to greet, as friendly and non-intimidatingly as possible. _‘Wow. Smooth. Not at all awkward.’_

Kyungsoo saw how the younger boy’s eyes widened, still fixed on the ground, lips pressed in a tight line as though somebody speaking to him was his worst fear right now. Kyungsoo gulped nervously but pushed on, doing his best to help.

   “Do you want to sit down?” he tried again softly. “This seat is free, if you want it?”

   Big brown eyes flicked back up to him hesitantly before he nodded and hurried to sit down.

   “Sorry…Thank you,” the boy said quietly, still embarrassed.

   “Not at all,” Kyungsoo said, forcing a smile. He had never been very good at small talk. He wished Chanyeol would just stay with his guests sometimes. “I’m Kyungsoo by the way.”

   “My name’s Jongin. It’s nice to meet you, Kyungsoo,” Jongin replied, turning to face him properly now, the heat in his cheeks waning a little. He gave him a shy, tentative smile.

   “Nice to meet you too, Jongin,” he answered after a moment, caught off guard by the brunet’s smile. He could feel little pinpricks of heat in his cheeks and hoped it wasn’t too noticeable. This kid was really cute.

   They’d spent the whole of their break talking to each other, lost in their own little bubble. Kyungsoo hadn’t even noticed Chanyeol coming back to sit across from them. He couldn’t suppress his smug smirk each time Chanyeol tried to find a way into their conversation and either failed or eventually lost it again after a few moments and just sat there pouting. Maybe it was mean of him but that’s what Chanyeol gets for abandoning his guests.

   Kyungsoo had really enjoyed talking to Jongin. They’d gotten to know each other a little and he’d been able to make Jongin laugh a few times which had made his chest swell with pride and happiness. He’d been sure to exchange numbers by the end of the break and was pleased when Jongin seemed just as eager as he was.

   Since then, Kyungsoo had managed to meet up with Jongin a few times over the following days. Sometimes they’d hang out with Sehun and Tao, who Kyungsoo had also gotten to know better and found he also quite liked them. Sometimes they spent time with more people and on a few special occasions, which were his favourite, it had been just the two of them. Those times were few and far between but he made the most of the time whenever it came. He didn’t really mind other people being there to be honest; they were all his friends after all.

   He was, however, admittedly becoming tired of Chanyeol’s consistent presence around Jongin. He was almost always there. Half the times he’d call Jongin to meet up, he was told that the younger was already with Chanyeol. Jongin being Jongin always offered him to join them but he could only handle so much Chanyeol in one day. Especially when he was around Jongin. Chanyeol was his friend and Kyungsoo was happy to be around him most days but when Chanyeol was with Jongin, he had an annoying habit of interrupting their conversations or acting out for the younger’s attention. It just got a bit tiring after a while.

   Even when Kyungsoo managed to get him on his own, so often the younger’s phone would go and it would be Chanyeol on the other end asking to meet up. He got some petty satisfaction at hearing Jongin tell him he was already with _him._ Of course, Jongin would feel compelled to ask Chanyeol to join them and Kyungsoo just lived for the days where Chanyeol would say no.

   Chanyeol _was_ his friend and he _did_ like him, really. It was just that he didn’t enjoy watching Chanyeol hopelessly try to flirt with Jongin – who, by the way, never even seemed to realise what was happening, _what does that tell you Chanyeol?_ – or get in the way of Kyungsoo’s own attempts to get closer to Jongin.

   Kyungsoo honestly didn’t know if Chanyeol got in the way on purpose or not but it seemed like every time he was getting closer to Jongin, it felt like they had a real, meaningful conversation for a moment – there was Chanyeol practically lying across the lunch table being noisy dragging Jongin’s attention away. Chanyeol always seemed to distract Jongin just before the younger could fully focus on and realise what had just started to form between them. It was infuriating.

   That’s why he liked the rare occasions where it could be just he and Jongin best of all. It was the only time he could feel around and see if Jongin might ever return his interest. He wasn’t sure what exactly he felt for the younger boy yet, it was still too soon to tell but he knew he felt _something._ Something good, something real. He just wanted the chance to explore it, work out what it was, explain it to Jongin and hope that he might return those feelings.

   For those reasons, he had been excited for tonight. He was going to Jongin’s apartment, where it would be just the two of them. Or that had been the plan anyway. Last minute, guess who decided to join in? Park _bloody_ Chanyeol that’s who. Your friendly neighbourhood asshole.

   So now the three of them were squashed onto the couch to watch some random movie. Jongin was in the middle of course, a big bowl of popcorn nestled in his lap for the three of them to share. He was giving the movie his full attention, laughing away at it, absently picking at the popcorn. Jongin seemed completely happy with the situation.

   Chanyeol was on one side, an arm slung comfortably around Jongin’s shoulders. He was watching the movie, laughing here and there, but it didn’t hold his attention as fully as it did Jongin’s. He kept getting distracted, glancing away from the screen to watch Jongin subtly. He would smile at the younger goofily with adoring eyes, taking a few bits of popcorn every now and then as his attention shifted between the movie and Jongin.

   Kyungsoo was on Jongin’s other side, slumped down on the sofa with his arms crossed, sulking. The movie had thus far failed to capture his imagination at all and by that point he wasn’t even pretending to watch anymore. He kept rotating his glare between Chanyeol’s arm around Jongin, the stupid, dreamy looks he was giving the oblivious younger and his other hand which was systematically decimating the popcorn supply, little by little. Seriously, what kind of a way to eat popcorn was that? Either take a handful or do it one at a time. What’s with this halfway bullshit every two minutes? Surely Kyungsoo couldn’t be the only one that found it annoying as hell?

   And the cycle just kept repeating. Kyungsoo glared back at the lax arm around Jongin’s shoulders. It was close to Kyungsoo as well and he briefly wondered what would happen if he just slapped it away. He moved his glare to Chanyeol’s stupid face next as the taller looked back to Jongin. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes dramatically and gagged quietly to himself. And finally, it was back to the damn tiny helpings of popcorn. He huffed in annoyance and jabbed his own fist into the bowl, admittedly a bit more aggressively than needed, taking a brimming handful for himself to chew on in irritation. If he couldn’t have Jongin to himself, he could at least covet his fair share of the snacks. Kyungsoo heard Chanyeol laugh loudly at something and made a face as he mockingly imitated the laugh under his breath, picking grumpily at his popcorn.

   Okay, so maybe he’s being petty here. But this was supposed to be something nice for Jongin and him and Chanyeol was just _ruining_ it all. He felt like he had a right to be mad at Chanyeol to be perfectly honest. Kyungsoo spent the rest of the movie sulking and feeling sorry for himself. Slouched down, arms crossed, pouting hard and miserably attacking the popcorn bowl. Some date night.

 

***

 

   “I don’t know what his problem is. Does he not like me anymore or something?” asked Chanyeol, slumping down where he sat cross legged on the grass of the courtyard. He rested his jaw in his hands as he looked to his friends helplessly.

   “Of course he does. Why wouldn’t he like you?” comforted Minseok with a supportive smile.

   “I don’t know,” sighed Chanyeol, frowning slightly. “He’s just been really short with me lately.”

   “Kyungsoo’s always been short. Genetics or something,” shrugged Baekhyun, attempting to lighten the mood.

   “I’m being serious, Baekhyun,” admonished Chanyeol. “It’s like he’s _angry_ with me or something…But I don’t know what I did to annoy him.”

   Junmyeon and Minseok exchanged uncertain looks before seeming to come to a decision.

   “Well…” began Junmyeon hesitantly, “obviously you’re very fond of Jongin, right? And you’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately…”

   “So?” asked Chanyeol, looking genuinely confused at the apparent change of topic.

   Junmyeon tried not to roll his eyes. Chanyeol was great and all but he could be so blind at times. He continued on tentatively, making use of his most sympathetic look.

   “Well, it’s no secret that Kyungsoo is _also_ rather fond of him…If you see what I’m getting at?”

   Chanyeol paused then, looking briefly surprised before seeming to consider it for a moment. “You really think Kyungsoo likes him too.”

   “Well, yeah,” answered Minseok with a shrug. “We all thought it was pretty obvious.”

   “I guess I never thought about it,” mused Chanyeol. “So that’s why he’s been so weird lately? He’s jealous of me spending time with Jongin?”

   “Seems like it,” replied Baekhyun.

   “So, what’re you gonna do now?” asked Minseok curiously.

   “Well I’m not giving up, that’s for sure,” answered Chanyeol with conviction. “I wanna be with Jongin and I don’t care who the competition is. Kyungsoo is just going to have to accept that I won’t back down until I make Jongin mine.”

   “Well, good luck with that,” offered Junmyeon simply, fairly positive that the exact same thought was firmly in place in Kyungsoo’s head.

 

***

 

   Now that Chanyeol knew there was competition for Jongin’s affections, he was certainly more forward with his attempts to get the younger’s attention. Kyungsoo was largely unimpressed and irritated by the new determination. However, Kyungsoo was never one to be outdone.

   When the group convened for lunch the next day, they decided to get fast food as a treat. The rest of the group watched on in awkward amusement as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol constantly tried to one up each other, each seeking the most attention from a baffled Jongin.

   Baekhyun was pretty confident that the freshman was even more oblivious than Chanyeol. He suspected that Jongin hadn’t yet clicked that Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were competing to be more than just good friends with him. The ignorance was sweet in a way and he could understand Chanyeol’s attraction. Personally, Baekhyun preferred someone with a bit more _awareness_ than Jongin. Someone like Sehun, for example, who not only revelled in the attention but was more than happy to return it, even if only sparingly. He mentally wished Chanyeol good luck as he focused on his own flirtatious endeavours.

   Most of the other boys were happy to put their own conversations on hold to take in the strange battle for dominance between the two apparent frenemies at the end of the table. The majority had the consideration to watch on subtly, still maintaining sparse conversations so as not to interfere with the entertainment.

   Jongdae, who was sitting right beside Kyungsoo and was the closest to the action, had no such qualms regarding subtly and watched with open interest and tactless amusement. Junmyeon and Minseok, who were beside him, were also finding it increasingly difficult not to just flat out watch with Jongdae the longer it went on. The more ridiculously the feud escalated until the three were observing quietly in a row, giggling to themselves and sharing snacks.

   Luckily, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were so wrapped up in their own drama that they took absolutely no notice of their growing audience. Jongin was simply too overwhelmed trying to keep track of them to pay any attention to anyone else.

   “Here Jongin, have a fry,” said Chanyeol, offering his fries eagerly to the younger. His eyes flitted momentarily to Kyungsoo who was watching grumpily. “Have one of _my_ fries.”

   Jongin looked a little confused, seeing as he had fries of his own already, but took one gingerly regardless. “Thanks, hyung” he added politely.

   Kyungsoo met Chanyeol’s smug smirk with an irritated frown. He picked up his own fries instantly and shook the pack lightly but insistently at Jongin, meeting the challenge. “Here Jongin. Have one of mine too. In fact, take _two.”_

   Chanyeol looked suitably affronted and Kyungsoo was equally pleased with himself. Jongin was simply bewildered, not wanting to take the others’ food when he had his own right there, but feeling vaguely pressed to accept. He was completely befuddled as to why his compliance was making them both so happy.

   “Have some of my chicken next, you’ll like it,” Chanyeol immediately jumped back in. He hastily pushed the little box across the table, sharp eyes more on Kyungsoo than Jongin.

   Returning the stare, Kyungsoo made to get up. “You know what, I’m getting dessert. Share it with me Jongin, okay? What do you want?”

   The whole break continued like that. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo forcing food and sweets down Jongin’s throat, engaging in some kind of staring contest with each other, silently grinding their teeth and stabbing plastic cutlery into the remains of their meals. Jongin was stuck looking back and forth between the two, as if he were watching a tennis match, making him dizzy as he tried to get enough air in between the incessant feedings.

   Jongdae, Junmyeon and Minseok felt bad for Jongin as they watched him slowly make his way to his next class. He stumbled along, looking full and weary, with Sehun and Tao on either side, leading him along.

   The rest of the group dispersed quickly, the break wasn’t quite over yet but most of them had a ways to walk to their next lessons and wanted to have time to make it there comfortably. Chanyeol was about to head off with Baekhyun when Kyungsoo stopped him, asking to speak to him privately.

   “I’ll catch up in a minute,” he told Baekhyun, gesturing for him to go on ahead.

   He turned back to Kyungsoo, waiting for him to speak. Kyungsoo stood stiffly, arms crossed and still looked a little sulky from having Jongin’s attention so divided.

   “So obviously after that little display you’ve finally clicked that you’re not the only one that likes Jongin, right?” he began quietly.

   “Yeah, I guess so,” answered Chanyeol, equally as reserved. “But don’t act like it was all me. You were just as bad y’know.”

   Kyungsoo bristled a bit at that. “I was only doing what I had to. _You_ were the relentless one. You just couldn’t handle that he was paying more attention to me.”

   Chanyeol scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Please Kyungsoo, that’s the complete opposite of what happened. _I_ liked him first and _you_ wouldn’t let him be. You’ve been trying to muscle in on him from day one after you already knew I liked him first.”

   “You _didn’t_ like him first,” bit back Kyungsoo, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. “You were just louder about it and automatically assumed you were _entitled_ to him.”

   Chanyeol looked strangely caught off guard at the assertion but convinced to argue his case with a deepening frown. “But you _knew_ that I liked him and you kept doing everything you could to weasel in and push me out.”

   “You didn’t care back then that I was interested, so why should I care now that you are?”

   “Well you should know that I don’t plan on backing down. I’m going to spend time with him and see where it goes. So you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

   “Well good, because I’m not going to give up either,” assured Kyungsoo, eyes hard and determined, glaring up at Chanyeol.

   “I guess now we know where we stand then. Glad it’s out in the open now and we can compete like men. That was just embarrassing,” pouted Chanyeol stubbornly.

   Kyungsoo nodded in agreement, still holding his tight stance. “And Jongin was obviously uncomfortable. From now on, we grow up and have a bit more tact. Deal?”

   Chanyeol nodded, eyes serious as he held out a hand. “May the best man win.”

   Kyungsoo took the hand firmly and they shook curtly. “May the best man win.”

   _‘I intend to,’_ they both thought.

 

***

 

   Despite Kyungsoo’s clear statement of intent, Chanyeol didn’t feel any great need to change his tactics. He was a bit annoyed that his so-called friend was trying to steal his man – that was poor form after all – but it didn’t really change anything in the end. All Chanyeol could do was try to win Jongin’s affections as he always had. He wasn’t going to try and belittle Kyungsoo’s efforts or make him look bad or anything underhanded like that. Chanyeol just wasn’t that type of guy. And when you got right down it, Kyungsoo really was still his friend, whatever happened. He couldn’t see Kyungsoo playing dirty either, so there wasn’t any real need to change his approach as far as he was concerned.

   Kyungsoo was still everywhere he went, however – or rather, everywhere _Jongin_ went – which made it very hard to spend any quality time alone with the younger boy. Which was extremely frustrating – and as forgiving as Chanyeol tried to be – it was nigh inexcusable. Even when they were all together trying to have a nice time, Kyungsoo was just so… _possessive._ It kind of put a damper on any attempt Chanyeol made at romance.

   Today would be better though. Chanyeol had been bouncing happily between lectures with a wide, lopsided and completely uncontainable grin all day. Nothing could ruin his good mood. Jongin had invited him to come watch his dance practise that afternoon after Chanyeol’s classes had finished for the day, since he’d shown an interest in the younger’s dancing before. Jongin had _personally invited_ Chanyeol to watch him perform, to spend time with him. That was _fantastic._

   He’d been so cute when he’d asked as well. All awkward and bashful, sure Chanyeol would say no because who wanted to waste their time watching him dance? Jongin always seemed embarrassed of his talent, shying away modestly at the elder’s praise and interest. When Chanyeol had accepted the invitation Jongin had beamed up at him, still a little pink with embarrassment but seeming genuinely happy he’d agreed to come. It had made Chanyeol positively giddy.

   And there was Jongin now, looking fine as all hell in his practise gear, showing Chanyeol all sorts of angles and muscles as he stretched out and warmed up. Very nice indeed. Chanyeol had only been there a moment stopping short just inside the doorway to admire the view, before Jongin caught sight of him out the corner of his eye. Jongin immediately turned his brilliant smile on him, wide and flawless making Chanyeol’s chest swell, and hurried over to him excitedly. The brunet beamed up at him happily like a little kid, cheeks a little red and flushed. It might’ve been from his warm up but Chanyeol liked to think he just had that effect on people. Jongin was just so excited to see him. Bless his little cotton socks.

   “You came!” beamed Jongin in greeting, before seeming to realise he was a bit excited. He cleared his throat awkwardly in an obvious attempt to calm down, though his grin didn’t diminish. “I’m glad.”

   “Of course I came,” Chanyeol couldn’t help smiling right back down at him like Jongin was the most precious thing in the whole world, because really – to Chanyeol at least – he was. This time Chanyeol was pretty sure the renewed flush to the younger’s cheeks had at least something to do with him.

   He chuckled quietly to himself over how adorable Jongin was when he got flustered, as the younger boy took him by the arm and lead him across the room. Chanyeol couldn’t help thinking how right this felt; that this was how it _should_ be. Having Jongin so excited to see him and _only_ him. Jongin looking about as giddy as Chanyeol felt when they shared a smile. This was special, or it could be special at least and nobody would ever convince Chanyeol otherwise. Or get in the way of it.

   “Come on,” continued Jongin, tugging him along. “You can sit next to Kyungsoo.”

   _Oh._ Chanyeol had been so focused on Jongin that he hadn’t even noticed anybody else that was in the room with them. Sure enough though, speak of _the literal DEVIL_ and there he was, lurking in a corner as usual. _Wonderful._ Kyungsoo looked about as happy to see him as Chanyeol was. His lower lip was already starting to resemble a surfboard with how much he was beginning to pout, arms crossed, sulking like a child.

“Hadn’t expected to see you here,” greeted Chanyeol stiffly. He tried for breezy, friendly even. It didn’t work very well. “What a lovely surprise.”

   “Ditto,” replied Kyungsoo. He tried to quirk his lips up into a polite smile. It came out about as convincing as Chanyeol’s efforts.

   “I’m so glad you could both make it,” continued Jongin, obviously the only one who was still upbeat about the situation. “I’ve been practising really hard for our next showcase. Having your support will really help I think.”

   The two elder boys nodded to him encouragingly, stepping in beside each other where Jongin directed them to sit with the other spectators. It seemed that everyone in the class had brought a guest or two to watch the performance. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol found a place to settle down, ready for the show to start. The makeshift audience were huddled together on the floor out the of the way of the dancers. There was a general buzz of enthusiastic excitement from the small crowd, everyone eager to see what their friends could do. The dancers seemed to be ready to go as well, huddling together for one last pep talk before getting started.

   Chanyeol was still a little upset at Kyungsoo’s surprise appearance. He worried it might bum him out for the rest of the evening but as soon as the dancers took their places, the music kicked in and the first few steps began, his mood picked right back up. There were a lot of dancers there who were probably doing great jobs but Chanyeol only had eyes for Jongin. Even when Jongin wasn’t at the front (which was rare because _hello people, his Jongin is freaking talented_ ) Chanyeol’s eyes refused to leave him and everybody else just slipped into the background until Chanyeol had almost forgotten they were even there at all, until there was only Jongin. He even forgot about Kyungsoo who was right by his side.

   Chanyeol spent the entire performance in complete awe of the younger boy. He was _amazing._ Chanyeol had expected him to be good, of course. He’d heard Sehun and Tao bragging about Jongin’s dancing just as often as Sehun and Jongin bragged about Tao’s Wushu prowess. Chanyeol had always thought it was sweet how much they liked to talk each other up and show each other off to everyone. He could see the absolute truth of everything they’d said now though. At some point he’d have to check out Tao’s Wushu as well if it was really as good as they’d insisted.

   Right from the first moves, Chanyeol could see and _feel_ how passionate Jongin was about dancing. How hard he must work to perfect his natural talent, how much he genuinely enjoyed doing this. Chanyeol liked to think he was a pretty decent dancer himself on the right occasion but Jongin was on a whole other level. And Chanyeol felt no shame whatsoever in idolising his mind-blowing talent.

   The group performed a couple of full-length routines as well as a few shorter and less practised pieces. The show eventually ended after a light-hearted freestyle break where any of the group could show off their own moves or tag team routines, all to thunderous applause. The atmosphere in the practise room was electric by the end, everybody buzzing with excitement, the dancers feeling tired but exhilarated.

   Chanyeol watched Jongin high-fiving and bro-hugging his friends and fellow dancers after a job well done. Jongin looked very happy and very pleased with himself and his performance, but also pretty worn out. Chanyeol wasn’t surprised he was tired, he’d really given it his all and the routines they’d performed had all been very energetic. He felt a little bad now for contributing to the cheering for encores after every performance. He’d just gotten swept up in the excitement, eager to see what else the troop could do. Admittedly, Jongin had looked quietly pleased at such a positive response from the crowd, still modest as ever in the face of praise.

   Jongin had done a great job and Chanyeol thought he deserved a reward. Perhaps he could take him out for dinner. The poor kid must be starving after all that exercise. He was just looking out for the younger…and if that meant being alone in a nice restaurant with an attractive dancer, well, that was just the cost of being such a generous guy.

   Jongin came bounding over not long after the end of the show, face flushed but happy. “What did you think?”

   “You did great, Jongin. It was perfect. You’re going to nail the showcase without breaking a sweat,” answered Kyungsoo proudly, before Chanyeol could start raving about how amazing it was.

   Chanyeol’s eyebrows shot up as he looked back at Kyungsoo. He had forgotten Kyungsoo was there for a while. Whoops. He hoped that wouldn’t put a wrench in his plans to take Jongin out. Though Chanyeol was still in particularly high spirits after such a good night. As long as Kyungsoo behaved himself and Jongin finally sat next to _him_ for a change… _maybe_ Kyungsoo could tag along with them…but hopefully he’d have homework or something.

   “You think so? Thank you!” grinned Jongin proudly, still slightly self-conscious about being complimented so much. He had too much talent to be that modest.

   Kyungsoo nodded with a bright, encouraging smile. He stood up then, stretched and said, “I’ll go get you a bottle of water to cool off okay?”

   Jongin nodded gratefully and sank to the floor beside Chanyeol, wiped out. Chanyeol took Kyungsoo’s exit as his cue to give his opinion on the show. He beamed at Jongin, grabbing him by the shoulders in his excitement and struggling not to violently shake the poor boy as he rushed to explain how well he’d done.

   “ _’Great?’_ Great doesn’t cover it! You were _fantastic,_ Jongin! Flawless – amazing – the best dancer I’ve ever seen! I thought Yixing was good but you could really give him a run for his money,” Chanyeol babbled, barely taking a breath.

   “So, you think I’ll do okay in the showcase next week?” asked Jongin, smiling shyly at the elder’s enthusiasm.

   “Believe me, you have _nothing_ to worry about,” Chanyeol smiled warmly at him, letting the truth of his words bleed through, trying to get across how deeply he meant them. “Jongin, you were _phenomenal.”_

   The corners of Jongin’s mouth twitched up into an embarrassed smile that he tried - and thoroughly failed - to hide. His whole face was turning red again and he just looked so _pleased_ and proud and just genuinely happy that Chanyeol struggled not to shake him again and squeal.

   “Thank you,” he said quietly, head ducking slightly.

   Chanyeol beamed back at him, finally releasing his shoulders and leaning back a bit.

   “Well anyway, you must be starving, huh? How about I take you out for dinner? Don’t worry, my treat,” he asked with as much casual confidence as he could muster.

   “Oh, actually that does sound great but I’m already supposed to study with Kyungsoo tonight. We were supposed to head right back to mine after this,” explained Jongin, shoulders slumping a little at the double booking.

   Chanyeol was disappointed (try crushed) at the lost opportunity but it did make him feel at least a little bit better that Jongin looked just about as let down as himself.

   “I see,” he mumbled glumly.

   Jongin looked guilty and continued, “sorry, Hyung. If it was just studying, I’d change it but we’re both snowed under with homework and I have a big test in a few days that I really need Kyungsoo’s help to study for.”

   Chanyeol instantly forced himself to smile and perk up as much as he could for the younger boy. Making Jongin feel guilty was the last thing he wanted. Damn it, why did he have to wish for Kyungsoo to have homework to go do?

   “No, no, it’s fine. Really,” he assured as convincingly as possible. “Some other time maybe.”

   Jongin gave him a small smile, grateful that he wasn’t mad. “That’d be nice.”

   Kyungsoo chose that moment to pop Chanyeol’s warm, happy little bubble of Jongin time. He passed Jongin his water and opened a bottle of juice for himself. Then he surprised Chanyeol by holding out a can of a ridiculously unhealthy energy drink he loved (hey, he wasn’t a dancer. He didn’t have to stay in shape.) for him to take.

   “Oh, thanks,” he replied, taking the can gratefully. _‘Though it’s the least you owe me after taking Jongin away for yourself, you shady little shit. You’re definitely not coming to dinner.’_

   “Mm, thought you’d want one for the walk back to your apartment. I got mine for the way to Jongin’s,” explained Kyungsoo. To Jongin, it was friendly and casual; Kyungsoo was even smiling. To Chanyeol, it was evil and gloating; he was even smirking, the smug jerk. “We should probably get going, Jongin.”

   Jongin nodded and got to his feet. Before collecting his bag, he smiled back down at Chanyeol and gave him a little wave. “See you later, Chanyeol. Thanks again for coming.”

   Chanyeol waved back as Jongin left the room. Kyungsoo gave him a last look as he left, smirk still in place. Chanyeol stopped waving and his new gesture – just for Kyungsoo – raised a few eyebrows. He didn’t care what these strangers thought though. This was terrible. The love of his life was being taken home by some other man. _To study._ He was no fool. He’d seen porn. He knew what studying led to.

   With the image of Kyungsoo’s annoying ass smirk in his mind and his irritation for the man rising, Chanyeol picked himself up off the floor and began a brisk walk (he wasn’t gonna run, are you kidding? Did you notice the kind of drink he favoured?) back to his apartment. Baekhyun had better be there. He needed someone to back him up, agree wholeheartedly how rude Kyungsoo had been asking other people’s dates out like that and to sort the little punk out. Baekhyun was his best friend and roommate. Surely he would rise to the occasion.

 

***

 

   Chanyeol burst loudly into the apartment, making his complaints known before he even got a foot over the threshold.

   “Baekhyun, you need to do something about Kyungsoo – “ but froze when he saw that his roommate was currently wrapped around Sehun; who had also frozen, looking like a deer in the headlights. “Oh.”

   Figures that Baekhyun’s pursuit of some fine freshman ass was going off without a hitch while his own was pretty much a tragedy. The irritation and vague envy at seeing how well Baekhyun had been doing with Sehun drowned out any guilt he may have otherwise felt for having interrupted them. Fuck it. If he was going to be miserable and alone tonight, so were they.

   Feeling justified, Chanyeol stood his ground completely unphased by what he’d walked in on and stared the two boys down. Sehun clambered awkwardly to the opposite end of the couch, putting a more respectable distance between Baekhyun and himself. Chanyeol watched with mild amusement as Sehun self-consciously tried to fix his hair and pretend that he hadn’t just been all over Baekhyun less than thirty seconds ago.

   Baekhyun, on the other hand, had no shame. He had not bothered to move at all, still sprawled out against the arm of the sofa, legs parted wide; one bent up on the couch, the other stretched out across the floor. He stared right back at Chanyeol just as unconcerned; looking simultaneously forlorn at the loss of the younger boy on top of him and pissed at Chanyeol for interrupting them. Well good. If Chanyeol was miserable, the least Baekhyun could do as his best friend was to bloody well be miserable with him.

   “Why did you choose _today_ to ignore a text from me? Can’t you see we were busy?” complained Baekhyun, still not bothering to move at all, totally casual, as Sehun watched on quietly from the side-lines.

   “Ohh, _sorry,_ I was just a little busy. Y’know _having my heart ripped out and my cock blocked – like_ I was saying,” snapped Chanyeol dramatically, pointing sharply at his chest and crotch in turn. He raised an eyebrow at Baekhyun with a completely serious stare.

   Sehun couldn’t supress a grin at Chanyeol’s behaviour as he got to his feet and excused himself. “Well, I’m gonna go so you guys can talk.”

Baekhyun’s attitude shifted instantly from impatient to disappointed. “Aww, Sebaby, don’t leave me here like this ~ We had a good thing goin’,” he moaned, reaching out for the younger boy.

   “I’ll see you later,” said Sehun finally, flashing a warm smile at the elder.

   Chanyeol was glad deep down that things were going well for his best friend but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit jealous of the way Sehun looked at Baekhyun. Watching them made his chest tighten painfully with longing. He wanted that too. He wanted that with Jongin.

   Chanyeol continued to mentally wade around in the fresh wave of sadness and yearning that had crashed into him as he absently watched Sehun gathering his things (including an empty paper bag, which confused him a bit but, hey, a tidy house guest was a welcome house guest) and share a smile with Baekhyun.

   “Good luck,” the younger nodded to him as he passed.

   With a sigh, Baekhyun forced himself into a halfway respectable sitting position and patted the space next to him on the sofa.

   “Alright, c’mere and tell Uncle Baeky all about it. What did Kyungsoo do now?”

   Chanyeol flopped down heavily next to Baekhyun. He took a deep breath before he launched into his rant. “He won’t leave Jongin alone,” he whined. “He’s there _all_ the time. I ask Jongin to do something and he can’t cause he already made plans with Kyungsoo. I offer to help him study – _study Baekhyun_ – and Kyungsoo already taught him everything. I mean, I didn’t really wanna study anyway but studying almost always leads to sexy times – I know Baekhyun, I’ve watched TV – and Kyungsoo took them away from me.”

   “Oh what, like you just did to me with Sehun? My heart _bleeds_ for you,” Baekhyun responded sarcastically, despite putting a comforting hand in his hair at the same time.

   “Well I’m glad you think this is funny, glad you can sit there grinning away, while I fear I may never smile again,” sighed Chanyeol dramatically. He kicked his feet helplessly like a child and let out a long whine. “Help me ~”

   Now that some of his annoyance with Kyungsoo had dissipated, Chanyeol was left feeling tired and upset; missing Jongin and feeling that increasingly familiar empty longing gnawing away at his stomach. He crossed his arms miserably over his stomach and slumped down further into the couch with a pout, feeling sorry for himself.

   Now Baekhyun really did look sympathetic for him, running his fingers through his hair absently in comfort. “Afraid there’s not much I can do buddy. Jongin likes Kyungsoo, so they’re going to spend time together. It’s unavoidable.”

   Chanyeol pouted harder at him, eyes wide with betrayal and disappointment. Baekhyun rushed to continue. “Having said that, there’s nothing to say that he doesn’t just like Kyungsoo as a friend. In that case, they’ll hang out, sure, but there’ll be no after study sexy times.”

   Chanyeol considered that for a moment. He hoped that was the case but it didn’t really make him feel any better at the moment. Baekhyun nudged his arm playfully with his shoulder.

   “You know, Luhan’s gotten in pretty well with the three of them after buying their affections with dinner. How about tomorrow you, me and Luhan all come up with a game plan for you? Something to give you an edge. Sound good?”

   Chanyeol let a smile flicker across his face. He knew he could count on Baekhyun, wingman extraordinaire, to help him out.

   “And you’ll help me get his attention?” asked Chanyeol, starting to brighten up again.

   “Of course,” affirmed Baekhyun with a grin. “It’s my sacred obligation as a wingman. And you know how seriously I take my responsibilities.”

   “Awesome,” beamed Chanyeol, finally relaxing a bit. He got comfortable as he enjoyed the fingers that were still playing with his hair, trusting them to comfort him without messing up his careful styling. Baekhyun and Chanyeol also took respect for great hair very seriously.

   “You really like him, huh?” asked Baekhyun casually after a quiet moment of watching his best friend fondly.

   “Yeah, of course. He’s like, the coolest guy I’ve ever met,” nodded Chanyeol seriously. He guessed that would bug Baekhyun a bit but the other boy just let it go for now, seeming content to simply listen to him. It was unexpected but Chanyeol was glad for it. Having an opportunity to talk about Jongin freely always cheered him up; almost as much as seeing him did.

   “Did you know that he dances? Like, really well. I just came from one of his practises. He was _awesome._ I’d wanted to take him out for dinner to unwind, but _Kyungsoo_ was tutoring him or something,” he pouted for a moment as he mentioned Kyungsoo but let it go in favour of another bright smile as he returned his focus to Jongin. “But he’s still the best dancer I’ve ever seen.”

   Baekhyun let him carry on like that for quite a while. It seemed like Chanyeol could talk forever about the many wonders of Kim Jongin. He thought it was pretty sweet how much just talking about Jongin made Chanyeol light up. He really hoped it would work out for his friend and he was set on doing whatever he could to help make sure that it did.

   “He’s just so _cool,”_ moaned Chanyeol, helplessly smitten, as his head flopped back against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

   Baekhyun chuckled warmly at him. “You’re such a fanboy.”

 

***

 

   They cornered Luhan in the library the next day. They wound up in one of the back corners, hidden away by shelves upon shelves of books.

   “So what exactly do you want me to do?” asked Luhan cautiously. “Use his trust in me to lure him someplace you can have your wicked way with him?”

   “What – _No!_ Of course not! Is that really what you think of me? My intentions towards Jongin are entirely pure, I’ll have you know!” defended Chanyeol, justly offended.

   “But I mean – if you’re offering, that could be helpful,” Baekhyun added as a side note, giggling at the equal looks of horror the other two gave him.

   “I’m _not_ helping you trap Jongin, Baekhyun. This is the reason you can’t hold down a boyfriend,” Luhan replied, rolling his eyes.

   “Excuse you, I’m doing just fine with Sehun, in case you hadn’t noticed,” retorted Baekhyun indignantly. Then a sly smile slid across his face. “Besides, I really prefer my boyfriends to hold _me_ down, if you know what I mean.”

   Luhan shook his head with a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah Baekhyun, we know what you mean. You only ever talk about the one thing anyway.”

   Baekhyun opened his mouth to defend himself once more but was promptly cut off by Chanyeol.

   “This is charming and all, but I thought we were here to help me?” frowned Chanyeol, deftly steering the conversation back to himself.

   Both boys relented, nodding in admonishment. Chanyeol sat back in his chair comfortably, feeling more relaxed now that he was back in charge.

   “All we were hoping was that you might know some way I could get closer to him. You’ve spent some time with them on your own, did he mention any interests, any likes or dislikes? Something like that.”

   Luhan looked up and off to the side, rocking slightly in his chair as he thought. “Well, when I took them to dinner it was more for Tao’s sake to be honest. But we did all get talking about food for a bit and Jongin mentioned that chicken was his favourite food by far. The other boys were joking about it too, about how much he loves it. Will that do?”

   “That’s awesome! Now I know what to bring him! Thanks, hyung,” beamed Chanyeol.

   Baekhyun and Chanyeol stood from the table and made to leave but Luhan called out to the taller before they could get too far. Chanyeol raised his eyebrows at him in question.

   “Good luck, Chanyeol. I’m really rooting for you two,” smiled Luhan warmly.

   Chanyeol beamed back at him for the show of support. He thanked him again sincerely, dipping his head a little, before he and Baekhyun went on their way.

***

 

   Lunch could not have gone better for Chanyeol. The way Jongin had positively beamed at him when he’d set the plate piled high with chicken down in front of him and told him it was all for him. Chanyeol’s chest still got tight and his cheeks warmed when he thought about it hours later.

   Just as planned, the chicken had been a gateway of sorts. Chanyeol got to spend the entire lunch break locked in uninterrupted conversation with Jongin. It was brilliant, he really felt like they’d connected in a way they hadn’t been able to before. He felt like they were a lot closer now and he couldn’t forget the feeling of Jongin’s one armed hug goodbye when the younger had eventually set off for his next class. Chanyeol hadn’t been sure he would ever remember how to breathe again but he couldn’t bring himself to care at all. He couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot all day, no matter how much Baekhyun teased him.

   He’d been slightly concerned about Kyungsoo butting in on their moment again but amazingly, he had seemed resigned to sit this one out; instead making fleeting conversation with Jongdae and Junmyeon. It had looked as though he’d been ready to fight his way back into the spotlight at one point but Jongdae had muttered something to him which made him withdraw. Chanyeol had no clue what he’d said but he would have to remember to thank Jongdae for it later.

   For now, Chanyeol was content to simply bask in the wonderful light feeling that built more and more with each time Jongin’s smile popped back into his mind to brighten up his day again. He breezed distractedly through the rest of the day, confident that nothing at all could spoil it. Not lectures; not homework or impossible essays; and, dare he say it, not even Kyungsoo. Today was a good day.

 

***

 

   Kyungsoo was confused. He had been since the start of the new school year. It’d be cheesy for him to think that it’d started the moment he clapped eyes on Jongin. It wouldn’t be true either. Seeing Jongin hadn’t confused him, nor had it really sparked anything profound within him. That only happened in cheesy dramas.

   It would not, however, be cheesy or incorrect to say that his confusion had begun later that same day. After he’d first introduced himself to the shy boy hovering awkwardly beside him looking lost.

   Seeing Jongin had raised some interest, but that was about it. What more could you honestly get from just looking at someone for a passing moment? _Talking_ to Jongin, however, actually getting to know him, _that_ had stirred something more inside Kyungsoo than just interest.

   The more time Kyungsoo spent with the younger, the stronger the indefinable feeling took hold in him. He’d been in relationships before and he’d had crushes before but he couldn’t remember ever felling quite as he did now. Though perhaps he just _wanted_ this to be something more and he was just fooling himself. Whatever the case, Kyungsoo couldn’t fully understand how he felt and that alone confused him. Surely he should be able to understand his own feelings?

   Then there was Chanyeol. Chanyeol had never seemed to be confused in the slightest. Well – not about Jongin at least. Right from the first moment he had been set on chasing after Jongin and known exactly what he’d wanted from the younger. Chanyeol’s surety had been a steady source of irritation for Kyungsoo the whole time. Did that mean that Chanyeol’s feelings were clear to him and he was always certain of how he felt for Jongin? Or did it simply mean that Chanyeol didn’t feel the same way Kyungsoo did – that Chanyeol had but a passing fancy and was being as immature as always with his relationships? Were Chanyeol’s feelings greater or less than his own?

   If the latter were true then Kyungsoo thought that maybe Chanyeol didn’t deserve to be with Jongin; that Jongin deserved someone who would take it a little more seriously. Kyungsoo may not completely understand the surge of emotions Jongin’s presence inevitably triggered but he knew with certainty that he did want to be with the younger. That he wanted to be as important and confusing to Jongin as the younger was to him. That desire had driven Kyungsoo to stay close to the brunet and was also how he’d found himself engaged in some peculiar competition with one of his closest friends. And he wasn’t ready to give up just yet; convinced he would be the belter choice for Jongin. Better than immature Chanyeol anyway.

   In moments like these, however, when he was left alone with his thoughts, strolling the campus wrapped up in his own head, Kyungsoo had to consider the other side of things as well. What if his inability to make sense of his own feelings for Jongin meant that he wasn’t as serious about it all as he would like to believe? What if the reason Chanyeol never seemed confused was because he shared the same feelings but knew what they meant? In that case, perhaps _he_ was the one who didn’t deserve to pursue Jongin and should be the one to step back.

   Kyungsoo had thought about all of this a hundred times already; doubting himself and then reassuring himself in a seemingly endless cycle. He knew one thing for sure though. When he imagined graciously stepping aside and watching Chanyeol inevitably court Jongin into submission, he felt nothing short of miserable. Kyungsoo truly didn’t think he could stand to watch Jongin with somebody else, not knowing that he had just given up his shot and stopped trying.

   So he didn’t stop trying. And he didn’t intend to stop anytime soon. In the end it didn’t really matter if he couldn’t figure himself out all the time. Kyungsoo knew what he wanted and had no legitimate reason not to go for it. Ultimately, it would all come down to what Jongin wanted anyway. All he could do was try to make Jongin happy and hope he would be good enough.

   “Kyungsoo! Over here!”

   Kyungsoo had been absently watching his feet as he ambled across campus to meet some of his friends on their free period, but looked up at the call of his name. Jongin was waving an arm at him to get his attention. He was sitting on the grass under one of the larger trees with Tao, Kris, Junmyeon, Luhan and Yixing. When he saw Kyungsoo look up at him, Jongin broke out into a wide grin and waved him over.

   For a brief moment, Kyungsoo simply stood and stared. Jongin’s smile was dazzling as always but this time that smile was just for him and him alone. The sight made Kyungsoo’s breath catch. And in that moment, there was no more confusion. There never was when he was the centre of Jongin’s attention.

   Without even realising, Kyungsoo’s feet were carrying him over to the younger boy; who’s attention never wavered. Seeing Jongin watching his approach; waiting for him; wanting him to join him, was all he needed to understand that the warm bubble expanding in his chest – whatever it was – was just _right_ , was what he wanted.

   Kyungsoo was still wrapped up in his revere of the brunet; eyes focused solely on him; by the time he reached the younger’s side. He was vaguely aware of Jongin’s hand on his arm, tugging him down to sit beside him.

   Finally coming out of his own head a little, Kyungsoo smiled back at Jongin. It was bright and honest and (Kyungsoo hoped at least) showed how happy he was that Jongin wanted him of all people beside him. He thought, just maybe, some of that got through to Jongin when the younger’s cheeks quickly tinted pink. Jongin hurriedly ducked his head with an awkward breath of laughter. _Cute._

   For the rest of the period, Kyungsoo found it rather difficult to keep up with the various conversations taking place around him. He spent the majority of the time simply watching Jongin talking and laughing with the others eagerly. He couldn’t help thinking how perfect Jongin seemed to him. The other boys seemed to fade out of his awareness altogether without him even realising it.

   At some point, Jongin had been laughing with the others about something Yixing had said when he’d turned back to grin at Kyungsoo, stopping short when he caught the elder’s eyes already fixed on him intently.

   It occurred briefly to Kyungsoo that he should perhaps be embarrassed about getting caught staring. Maybe he should apologise and look away. He didn’t though. He just kept on watching with soft eyes; awed, entranced.

Then Jongin was smiling back at him warmly, like he was happy to have Kyungsoo watching him. Again, feeling bold and oh so _right_ in that moment, Kyungsoo shifted and made to slide over the grass to sit closer, right beside the brunet.

   As he moved to do so he asked softly, only the vaguest hesitation, “is it okay if I come close?”

   Jongin’s cheeks were warm with fresh colour as his face lit up in a smile and he nodded jerkily, a little caught off guard.

   They spent the rest of the break sitting so close; their legs and shoulders pressed together, elbows bumping occasionally. Kyungsoo sat back slightly, hands out behind him in the grass where no one else could see, mirroring Jongin’s relaxed position. He let one hand absently play with the blades of grass, sweeping across them, tugging at them occasionally. Each time he brushed across the grass he could feel how close his fingers were to Jongin’s…and if he _accidentally_ happened to brush the tips of Jongin’s fingers with his own, well, that was just a happy coincidence. And if Jongin never felt the need to move his hand away, well then Kyungsoo never felt the need to stop doing it.

   They were both so wrapped up with each other that neither noticed that Tao and Kris had both been watching them since Kyungsoo had subtly slid closer. Tao was sitting in front of Kris; comfortably situated between his legs, leaning back against his broad chest, the elder’s arms linked loosely around his waist. Only now did he look away from Kyungsoo and Jongin to catch Kris’ eye and share a knowing smile with him. Jongin was one of his closest friends and he wanted him to be happy. He hoped Kyungsoo would take as good care of Jongin as Kris did of him.

   Kyungsoo only had one more class that afternoon and it wouldn’t start for another hour yet and was delighted to discover that Jongin and Tao had another of their – surprisingly frequent (oh to be a freshman again) – half days and were now done for the day. Tao was staying on campus with Yixing and Luhan to wait for Kris to finish up his last lecture; leaving Jongin to head home by himself.

   Feeling good after some quality time with the younger, Kyungsoo gathered up all the bravery he could find and offered to walk the brunet home. He was relieved when Jongin took him up on the offer. They spent the journey strolling along in no great hurry, talking about nothing in particular; merely enjoying each other’s company.

   Kyungsoo spent the majority of the walk fighting the increasingly strong impulse to reach out and hold Jongin’s hand as they walked. Picturing it made his stomach flutter and the corners of his mouth curve up but he was as much nervous at the tempting thought as he was excited by it. Jongin hadn’t moved his hand away when he’d brushed against it earlier but that was different than walking hand in hand. Kyungsoo would like nothing more than to follow through on the urge but felt it might be a bit sudden and the risk of rejection was too upsetting to consider actually attempting it.

   For all he’d tried to put his feelings across in his subtle words and actions, he had neglected to ever actually tell Jongin outright how he felt or what he wanted. The possibility of rejection was still a very real one, regardless of how much he would like to believe there was a chance of Jongin reciprocating. So Kyungsoo; grudgingly and with great effort; resigned himself to simply walking closely beside the brunet.

   They were so close that their arms would frequently brush against each other. Like before, Jongin didn’t seem to mind so Kyungsoo allowed himself that much. He tried to convince himself that that small bit of contact would be enough for him for now.

   The sky had been dark for the better part of the day and when they were just a street away from Jongin and Tao’s apartment it had begun to spit lightly. By the time they were on the corner of his street it had escalated to a drizzle. As they were approaching Jongin’s building the heavens finally opened and it began to pour torrentially quite suddenly.

   With a sound of dismay and a hasty “come on”, Jongin nimbly skipped up the stone stairs to the door of his building. Once there he was kept dry by the overhang of the building’s entryway. Kyungsoo was thrown by the younger’s speedy reaction and was still standing on the sidewalk getting increasingly damp. He’d only planned to walk Jongin home anyway, he wasn’t sure there was much point in joining him at the top of the stairs only to turn right back around and leave again.

   But when Jongin turned back to find the elder still staring blankly up at him from the street he gestured hurriedly and called _“quick, hyung!”_ and Kyungsoo was obeying before he’d even realised it; hopping up the steps quickly and admittedly much less agilely than Jongin had.

   Jongin pulled him in under the shelter right away, looking him up and down as he steadily dripped onto the dry concrete at their feet.

   “You’re soaked,” he noted with concern.

   Kyungsoo shrugged helplessly, feeling awkward and exposed under Jongin’s scrutiny. “It’s fine.”

“You might get sick,” the younger insisted, trapping his lower lip between his teeth.

   “Really, I’ll be fine,” assured Kyungsoo, feeling warmth in his chest already at Jongin’s concern for him.

   Jongin was going to argue further when he noticed Kyungsoo was standing too close to the edge of the shelter and his back and shoulder were still being rained on as they spoke.

   “Ah – you’re not even under properly, hyung! You’re still getting wet,” he exclaimed, grabbing hold of Kyungsoo’s sleeves and tugging him in closer to keep the elder dry. “Come here.”

   The shelter wasn’t very big to begin with and they were both fully grown adults, so when Jongin innocently pulled Kyungsoo in, they wound up standing right in front of each other, just inches apart. They both quickly became aware of their proximity to the other and froze; Jongin’s fingers still loosely curled into Kyungsoo’s sleeves.

   Kyungsoo simply stared back, taking the younger in, caught off guard at being pulled in close like that. Jongin broke first, releasing his hold and looking down with an embarrassed giggle. But he didn’t step back and eventually met Kyungsoo’s gaze again, smiling at him warmly.

   It reminded Kyungsoo of just a little while ago when he’d joined the brunet on the grass. Jongin wanted him there with him. He was smiling that smile, the one reserved just for him. And Kyungsoo realised for the second time that day that he wanted to be there too, with Jongin. That it all just felt so right.

   Mustering all the courage he could summon, Kyungsoo found himself leaning forward before he’d even considered it, closing what little distance there was between them. Just like that his lips were on Jongin’s. It was soft but sure and Kyungsoo put everything he had to give into it. And then, quite suddenly, it was over.

   Kyungsoo found himself standing frozen, staring wide-eyed back at Jongin. And then a sense of vague terror like he’d never known rose up inside of him all at once. He hadn’t planned that at all. Why hadn’t he planned it? Why didn’t he wait until he had a plan? It had been nice – really nice but so incredibly short. He should’ve kept going, made the most of it. Would it be weird to do it again now? No, he’d left it too long now. What if Jongin had hated it and he never got the chance to do it again? It was too hasty – he hadn’t been ready – he hadn’t paid enough attention – he didn’t think he could remember it all – had he blacked out? His only chance to kiss Jongin and he’d wasted in on an impulse. Fan-fucking-tastic.

   As Kyungsoo continued to freak out internally over what just happened, he licked his lips automatically and took a breath, ready to try and explain himself. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say. Maybe he should apologise for not asking. Maybe he should compliment Jongin. Maybe he should pretend it was some weird joke. Maybe he should just cut his losses and run for it right then and there.

   But he didn’t need to say anything. It took a moment for Jongin to process what had just happened but the moment he did was obvious. His cheeks were redder than Kyungsoo had ever seen them and after licking his lips, in a mirror of Kyungsoo, a brilliant smile stretched across his features. Jongin looked down at his feet, biting his lip to try and hide his uncontrollable smile. He shifted from foot to foot self-consciously and Kyungsoo thought he caught a huff of breathless laughter escaping the brunet as well.

   It seemed Jongin was trying hard to stop grinning so much but each time his eyes flicked back up to Kyungsoo’s face it would inevitably grow wide again. It didn’t take long for him to abandon his attempts altogether and look back up at Kyungsoo properly now, still beaming away, eyes bright. His cheeks were still red and he twisted his fingers in the hem of his shirt in embarrassment, too aware of the heat in his face. He looked happy but self-conscious. Kyungsoo thought he looked perfect.

   “Did – did you want to stay for a bit?” Asked Jongin shyly. “Or are you going back?”

   “I’ll need to get back soon. I’ve got another lecture to go to,” admitted Kyungsoo regretfully. He’d almost forgotten about it altogether.

   “Then I’ll lend you an umbrella so you don’t get anymore wet,” offered Jongin, also disappointed he had to leave. Though the disappointment couldn’t stop him smiling entirely.

   Kyungsoo didn’t mind getting a little wet. He didn’t think he’d really mind anything at this point to be honest. But Jongin insisted he take his umbrella with him. Only a few minutes later Kyungsoo was stepping back out onto the top step, kept safe from the downpour by his borrowed umbrella. Before he could turn to leave, Jongin’s hand was at his elbow, holding him back.

   “Thanks for walking me home, hyung,” he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

   Kyungsoo was so giddy at the gesture that he was vaguely concerned he might actually fall down the stairs if he attempted them now. He grinned back at Jongin, feeling heat in his own cheeks, as Jongin retreated back under the overhang of the building to wave him off down the street.

   Kyungsoo headed back to the university feeling lighter than air. He grinned like an idiot the whole time, totally unconcerned by the rain thudding down on his umbrella.

   Today was a very good day.

 

***

 

   Today was a terrible day. Chanyeol had just been innocently walking along minding his own business, still giddy with delight over his connection with Jongin over lunch, when he’d overheard them. Kyungsoo was in the middle of telling Yixing how he’d finally gotten up the nerve to kiss Jongin. Bragging about how Jongin had – _allegedly_ – kissed him back. Neither of them had noticed Chanyeol, who remained frozen at the end of the corridor and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a smug Kyungsoo at the moment.

   He’d stumbled off on numb legs not wanting to believe it. How had this happened? He’d really thought he’d gotten through to Jongin earlier, really believed that just maybe Jongin could like him back. And sure, Chanyeol had always known that Kyungsoo was a contender but he’d sort of fooled himself into believing that everything would work out for him somehow and that Kyungsoo wouldn’t end up being a problem at all. He was an idiot.

   “Hi, hyung!”

   Chanyeol was abruptly pulled from his self-pity by a beaming Tao who had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The younger gave him a cheerful wave as he made to continue on his way, possibly meeting Kris. Chanyeol thought it was just awesome how great everyone else’s relationships were going.

   “Wait!” called Chanyeol suddenly, grabbing Tao’s bicep to stop him leaving. “I need to ask you something.”

Tao was one of Jongin’s best friends; surely he’d know what – if anything – was going on with him. Tao waited patiently for him to continue.

   Licking his lips, suddenly nervous, Chanyeol began, “I heard Kyungsoo telling Yixing earlier, he said he’d kissed Jongin today. Do you know anything about that?”

   Tao brightened up again and nodded excitedly. “Oh yeah, Jongin texted me right after it happened. I told Kris there was something there! Isn’t it nice, hyung, that they’ve finally just done it already?”

   Chanyeol had waited for the reply with baited breath. A fresh wave of shock and woe hit him as soon as the words had left the younger’s mouth. So it really did happen then. He’d lost.

   Chanyeol didn’t respond. There was a good chance if he did try to speak that he might cry. He’d thought he’d had a good enough grip on himself to have merely frozen at the news, but apparently some of his misery had shown on his face judging by the way Tao’s grin immediately faltered.

   “A-are you alright?” asked Tao anxiously, instantly becoming uncomfortable.

   Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Chanyeol nodded jerkily and forced out, “yeah, yeah that’s…that’s really great. Good for them.”

   Tao observed him for a quiet moment before his eyes went wide and a little gasp escaped him.

   “Did you…did you like him too?” he asked, in barely more than a whisper.

   Chanyeol didn’t answer but the look he gave Tao was clear enough. Tao looked immediately mortified and obviously felt guilty for telling him the news how he did. If Chanyeol had had any sympathy left for anyone but himself he might’ve felt for the kid.

   “Oh, hyung. I’m sorry…are you gonna be alright?”

   Tao had his hands out like he wanted to comfort the elder but refrained from actually making contact; clearly out of his depth and unsure what to do for him. Chanyeol did his best to muster something of a smile for the younger but couldn’t stop his voice coming out quiet and fragile.

   “Mhm, I just…I just need to go find Baekhyun.”

   Before Tao could do or say anything more, Chanyeol had rushed off on his way home, chewing on his bottom lip and trying not to think about anything until he had Baekhyun beside him.

   By the time he actually made it home, Chanyeol felt like he’d shut down in a way. He wasn’t a sobbing mess like he’d expected to be at least. Which was good of course, but he wasn’t actually feeling much of anything else either. There was just a big empty pit in his stomach that he didn’t know what to do with.

   When he’d made it through the front door, he found Baekhyun cross-legged on the couch, phone in hand. Baekhyun flashed him a smile in greeting, sat up straighter and set his phone aside. Chanyeol could practically feel the excitement buzzing off his best friend and it was obvious there was something he wanted to tell him.

   “You’ll never guess what I did today,” beamed Baekhyun proudly, before launching into a story about his date with Sehun.

   “For just making out it was pretty damn good. I really think we could’ve gotten further too. Well, if his dog hadn’t interrupted that is,” he finished off after a while, looking supremely pleased with himself.

   Chanyeol hadn’t moved from his space beside the door as he listened to Baekhyun’s story.

   “Oh that’s nice, good for you,” replied Chanyeol. His tone was pleasant but there was little to no emotion behind it. Baekhyun’s eyebrows drew together as he silently regarded his best friend, perhaps noticing there was something off about him. Before he could say anything though, Chanyeol continued. “You know who else made out today?”

   Baekhyun paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes and giving him a sly probing grin. “Who? You and Jongin?!”

   Chanyeol let out a humourless laugh and tried in vain to swallow the newly reformed lump in his throat. “No. Jongin and Kyungsoo.”

   That’s when Chanyeol felt himself cracking. His eyes were stinging and he knew they’d be shiny with the tears he’d been holding back since hearing the news. He was pretty sure his lip was trembling at this point too. If it were anybody but Baekhyun he would’ve been embarrassed but he knew Baekhyun wouldn’t laugh at him. They were best friends and this is what they did.

   Baekhyun’s grin had died at his words, leaving him looking equal parts horrified and sympathetic. He immediately rushed to console Chanyeol as the taller had known he would.

   “Shit man, c’mere,” breathed Baekhyun, beckoning him over to sit beside him on the couch.

   Chanyeol thought that maybe he wouldn’t be able to make his legs work but as soon as the words left Baekhyun’s mouth, he was rushing to his side. He fell heavily to the sofa and happily accepted the tight hug Baekhyun instantly pulled him into.

   They’d been here hundreds of times before each of them on both sides, any time one of them had their heart broken. They both knew how the rest of the night would go. There’d be blankets, cheesy movies they wouldn’t pay attention to and as much ice cream and junk food as they could get through. But for now, they’d stay together, huddled close on the sofa, while Chanyeol let Baekhyun take care of him. They’d talk it over – as much or as little as needed – until they were ready for Break-Up Bootcamp.

   “It’s gonna be fine, okay?” cooed Baekhyun gently, running his hand through Chanyeol’s hair. “It was just a kiss, right? Just one little kiss and we don’t even know how Jongin feels about it yet. Nobody’s mentioned boyfriends or anything yet.”

   Chanyeol took a shaky breath, hanging onto Baekhyun and staring ahead blankly with watery eyes. Baekhyun observed him in concern, noting the red rimmed, puffy look to his eyes and the little sniffs he took every few minutes.

   “No,” he said miserably, resigning himself. “it’s over. I lost.”

 

***

 

   The next couple of days weren’t easy for Chanyeol. He had to watch Kyungsoo and Jongin together pretty much constantly. Sitting together, talking together, being _cute_ together. It was pretty horrible to sit through with a straight face. Not to mention having half his friends flashing him sympathetic looks every five minutes.

   What was worse was that Jongin didn’t seem any different at all. He’d still happily talk to Chanyeol just like before, ask him to hang out like nothing at all had changed. Had Chanyeol really not made any impression at all? It was bad enough if Jongin had simply chosen Kyungsoo over him and they could be awkward about it for a few days before moving on. But Jongin hadn’t once acknowledged his feelings at all. Did he even know what Chanyeol had been trying to make him understand since they first met? Did he even realise how devastated Chanyeol was? Somehow it was worse this way, not to even have his feelings recognised. He would rather someone be chosen over him than flat out not being acknowledged at all.

   Kyungsoo at least hadn’t been a dick about it. He was more relaxed around Jongin, secure that he didn’t have to prove himself anymore or be protective over his time with Jongin. He was even more relaxed about Chanyeol spending time with Jongin now. Kyungsoo was confident enough now to throw a casual arm around Jongin’s shoulders while they ate lunch, where before he would’ve been to awkward to even try.

   If it had been with anyone else, Chanyeol would’ve been so proud of Kyungsoo for being confident like that. But this was Jongin and it still hurt a bit. Chanyeol was trying to get over it, he really was. He wanted to be happy for his friends. Baekhyun had attempted to spur him on to fight for it more but that would have been crappy of him and he’d declined. Better to step aside graciously. Jongin had made his decision and that was that. Even so, it had only been two days and he wasn’t over it yet.

   Chanyeol had noted with some interest that aside from an increase in casual contact and a significant decrease of Kyungsoo’s generally awkward air, nothing much else really seemed to be going on between the two of them. Not once had he ever seen them kiss. It’s not like he was particularly eager to watch the boy he liked make out with one of his close friends or anything, but if he were in Kyungsoo’s position he was pretty sure he’d be doing it every chance he got. Perhaps Kyungsoo was just being respectful and keeping it to a minimum around Chanyeol.

   Chanyeol certainly appreciated the gesture but knew it wouldn’t last forever. They’d probably be all over each other all the time once they made it official. Chanyeol was honestly surprised they hadn’t already. Everyone in their group had already heard about what happened between them, so it wasn’t much of a secret. Yet still neither of them had ever mentioned the word boyfriend.

   After another miserable lunch of watching the two not-boyfriends be cute and happy together, Chanyeol was actually a little thankful for the start of their next classes and the excuse to leave it afforded him.

   His escape, however, was interrupted when he heard Tao calling out to him. He turned back to see the younger trotting down the corridor after him.

   “I’m going this way too. Can I walk with you?” he asked politely, and damn if Chanyeol didn’t think he was adorable.

   Forgetting Tao’s ridiculous Wushu abilities, his super power was definitely his sweet side. It was almost impossible to say no to him when he asked for anything. Even if it was Gucci and expensive as fuck and they were all just students who were broke as fuck.

   “Sure, that’d be nice,” he smiled back at the younger.

   They fell into step and walked in comfortable silence for a while until Tao finally spoke. He’d been stealing glances at the taller for most of the journey and chewing his lip hesitantly, clearly wanting to say something.

   “I wanted to talk to you about something actually,” started Tao slowly, unsure how to broach the topic. “About Jongin.”

   The atmosphere tensed almost imperceptibly. They hadn’t mentioned what had happened the other day since then and Chanyeol wasn’t too keen to get into it again.

   “Yeah, sorry about the other day. But I’m over it y’know, so you don’t have to say anything,” replied Chanyeol quickly, aiming for casual and utterly unconcerned.

   Tao looked at him wide eyed and upset at his response. “Over it? No! But you like him – I _know_ you do, hyung.”

   “Well he doesn’t like me. He likes Kyungsoo obviously, so there’s no point in me doing anything now, is there?” argued Chanyeol bristly, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “Did Baekhyun put you up to this?”

   Tao was already shaking his head vigorously and carried on firmly. “But that’s what I wanted to tell you! Jongin talks about you all the time. He has since the very first day of school and he still does now. _I_ think he likes you, hyung. Just as much as Kyungsoo. He talks about you just as much anyway. And I’ve seen him look at you, y’know, when you turn away sometimes.”

   Chanyeol stared back at Tao, regarding him as they walked. Tao looked so earnest and eager that he really wanted to believe everything he was saying. But Tao might just be trying to cheer him up, or reading into things too much.

   “He’s with Kyungsoo now,” Chanyeol dismissed sadly but firmly, looking away from the younger.

   “But he’s _not!”_ pressed the younger ardently, pulling Chanyeol to a halt against the wall. “They aren’t going out yet. It was just that kiss. Jongin doesn’t know where they stand now, Kyungsoo never asked him out or anything.”

   Chanyeol gripped Tao back, gazing seriously into the younger’s eyes. “Really? Are you sure?”

   _“Yes,”_ insisted Tao, exasperated but glad to finally be taken seriously. “They aren’t together, not yet anyway and I really do think he likes you back. But you can’t give up, he already thinks he’s done something wrong because you seem upset.”

   Chanyeol let out a shaky laugh. He couldn’t believe his ears. He might still have a chance! Though one thing still confused him.

   “Hang on, I thought you were on Team Kyungsoo? Weren’t you just saying how great it was that they’d kissed?”

   Tao laughed awkwardly. “Well yeah, but I’m more Team Jongin than anything. I was just pleased for him was all. He’s my friend and I want him to be happy. Kyungsoo is really nice and they’d be good together for sure, but so would you and he. I think you’re both super cute couples and it’s only fair for Jongin to know that he has options. You need to get back in the running so it’s fair, that’s all. I don’t wanna take sides, I just thought you deserved to know.”

   Chanyeol smiled at him fondly. Tao was a good kid and he’d just given him a little hope. He could kiss him – if his lips weren’t for Jongin exclusively, that is (and if Kris wouldn’t kill him for it). Instead he beamed and squeezed the younger’s shoulders, maybe shaking him a little too much in his excitement.

   “Okay,” he finally said. “Okay, I won’t give up yet. Thank you.”

   Tao laughed at his enthusiasm and grinned right back. “That’s good. Well, my next class is actually the other way and I’m gonna be late, so I’d better get going – but work hard and win him over, hyung!”

   Chanyeol watched Tao slide past him and head back the way they’d just come. He hoped the younger would make it on time. He didn’t like to think Tao would be late on his account but was thankful he’d followed him this far. Tao turned back at the end of the corridor and called out “Good luck, hyung!” louder than strictly necessary before skipping off round the corner with a giggle at the many eyes of students who’d turned to stare at his outburst.

   Chanyeol chuckled as he continued on his way, pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to focus on his lesson anymore. Next time he saw Jongin he’d break out the charm again. This was his second chance and he wasn’t going to waste it.

 

***

 

   Kyungsoo had been watching Chanyeol carefully for the past week. He didn’t like what he’d been seeing. For a little while there it’d seemed as though Chanyeol had been backing off a bit and – just for a little while – Kyungsoo had believed he’d won, that’d Jongin would be with him and that Chanyeol had finally accepted it.

   Chanyeol had looked utterly miserable for the first few days after he’d kissed Jongin and he’d truly felt bad about that. Chanyeol _was_ his friend after all and Kyungsoo didn’t want to see any of his friends upset. At the same time, however, he’d tried not to feel too guilty about it.

   They were both interested in the same guy after all; in the end _somebody_ was going to miss out and be a bit sad for a while. He sympathised with Chanyeol, honestly, but he didn’t believe that he should feel guilty for getting what he’d wanted. Surely he deserved to be happy as well?

   He’d had faith that Chanyeol would get over it eventually, however dramatic he chose to be about it. He’d hoped he’d get over it quickly, as much for Chanyeol’s sake as his own. But after only those few short days an unexpected change had occurred in his newly miserable friend. Chanyeol had perked right back up and seemingly picked up where he’d left off in his pursuit of Jongin.

   At first, Kyungsoo had simply been too affronted at his audacity to say anything about it. Kyungsoo had already kissed Jongin. Jongin had kissed back! Didn’t that sort of mean their little competition was over? What sort of man keeps flirting with another man’s guy? A _friend’s_ guy no less! So he’d been stunned silent and said nothing.

Then he’d simply assumed that surely Jongin would put a stop to the ridiculous courtship himself. It didn’t have to be brutal or anything, just a simple “well actually, Kyungsoo already called dibs”. But Jongin didn’t stop it, didn’t say anything.

Kyungsoo had figured maybe Jongin really was just that oblivious that he didn’t see Chanyeol’s advances for what they were. Jongin was always talking about what a good friend Chanyeol was after all, perhaps Jongin only saw it as being friendly. Kyungsoo could handle having an oblivious boyfriend. That could have been endearing.

   But it had been about a week now and he was struggling to believe in that theory. The look in Chanyeol’s eyes when he spoke to Jongin, the private little smiles he gave him, the way he’d dote on him, try to show off for him: it was unmistakeable. It was the same way Kyungsoo behaved around Jongin, so he knew it well. The more time that passed, the more he came to recognise that look on Jongin’s face when he was with Chanyeol as well.

   He couldn’t understand what he’d done wrong. Why he couldn’t hold Jongin’s attention. It had been Sehun who’d eventually set him right one break. “Well, it’s not exactly like you’re together, is it? Not properly,” he’d explained. “You kissed him out of the blue and never mentioned it again. You kinda left him hanging, so how is he supposed to know where you two stand or what you want from him?”

   Kyungsoo could’ve kicked himself. If he’d just _asked_ Jongin out properly…maybe then Jongin would look at him the same way he looked at Chanyeol. He guessed he could see Sehun’s point. He hadn’t brought up that kiss again and he hadn’t stood up in front of everybody to declare Jongin his boyfriend, but that was only because he hadn’t thought he’d needed to.

   Kyungsoo had just assumed their kissing meant they would be together now. Perhaps that had been naïve of him. God knows Jongdae had laughed when he’d explained his predicament to them in confidence – howled more like it. Minseok hadn’t been much better either. His exact words were _“oh, honey.”_

   And he’d _tried_ to fix it, to make it clear what he wanted them to be. He sat by Jongin, asked him to do things just the two of them, he’d even tentatively gone for a few more kisses. The confusing and vaguely irritating thing was that Jongin had kissed him back every time; gone places with him happily whenever he asked; cuddled up close to him when they sat together. He’d made Kyungsoo believe he wanted to be with him just as much only to start blushing and making eyes at Chanyeol again any time he opened his mouth or looked Jongin’s way.

   He could tell that Jongin liked Chanyeol, it was hard to miss, but neither of them would come out and say it. They’d just dance around each other; so painfully obviously into each other. And at the end of the day, Jongin would follow Kyungsoo wherever he led him, kiss him back like he meant it and play boyfriends with him. Kyungsoo didn’t know what Jongin wanted from _him._

     Maybe Jongin liked having someone around to do the boyfriend thing with. Maybe that was why he stayed with Kyungsoo, giving him what little he carefully asked for; unofficial dates, kisses, sitting tangled together at every available opportunity. Maybe he was just using him until Chanyeol got up the nerve to ask him out like Kyungsoo had failed to do. Maybe when Chanyeol finally did it Jongin would just up and leave him entirely. If Kyungsoo _were_ to ask him out now, maybe Jongin would laugh at him.

   That’s why Kyungsoo couldn’t ask Jongin out now, why he couldn’t be honest about how he felt and what he wanted. Because as much as Kyungsoo wanted Jongin to love him back, he just didn’t really believe it. Not when he was up against Chanyeol. Kyungsoo couldn’t ignore that little doubt that had steadily been growing in the back of his mind that if it came down to it, really anybody would choose Chanyeol over him. He just didn’t need to hear that.

   So Kyungsoo never asked Jongin to be his boyfriend even though it’s what he really wanted. He was too afraid of being rejected and loosing Jongin completely. Instead he just tried to enjoy however long Jongin would be willing to stay with him and give him a little of his attention. When it was just the two of them, he could pretend, just for a little while, that he could be enough and that Jongin wasn’t just waiting for a better offer.

   So he enjoyed the dates he took Jongin on and the moments he could steal with him in between the rest of their lives. Kyungsoo was in the middle of enjoying one of those moments when Jongin finally said it and all his quiet doubts exploded right in his face.

   It had been his own fault really. They’d been kissing on Kyungsoo’s couch for a while and he could tell there was something on Jongin’s mind, something he wanted to tell him but wasn’t brave enough to get the words out. Maybe if he hadn’t asked what was wrong Jongin wouldn’t have told him. Maybe they could’ve just carried on as they were, just the two of them for a while longer. But whatever it was had clearly been bothering Jongin and he had obviously been waiting for a chance to bring it up. Kyungsoo just wasn’t the type of person to ignore the distress of someone he cared about, even if it meant shooting himself in the foot. So he’d asked.

   Jongin had looked away from him then, looked almost _guilty,_ as he hesitated. It had taken a while for Kyungsoo to finally drag it out of him.

   “I think maybe…maybe I might like Chanyeol.”

   It had come out abruptly in the silence and while it had hit Kyungsoo hard, it also seemed to take Jongin by surprise that he’d actually admitted it out loud. Jongin’s eyes went wide and his mouth clamped shut tightly as though he could pretend he’d never spoken at all.

   They sat in silence for a long moment. Kyungsoo wasn’t surprised at the news though he got the feeling that Jongin had expected to shock him. Even though he knew this surely meant the end of whatever they might have had, he still found it endearing that Jongin thought he’d hidden his crush well, as if he didn’t walk around with his heart on his sleeve. As if Kyungsoo didn’t know him well enough to read him.

   “Sorry,” breathed Jongin into the silence, as if he wanted to just forget he’d mentioned it at all and move on. He still looked vaguely appalled with himself at his admission.

   “Don’t apologise, it’s…” but he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it was fine. Instead he guessed he might as well hear all of it. Jongin looked like he wanted to explain further and was just waiting for permission. This was going to be a fun night he could tell. “Did you want to say something else?”

   Jongin looked up at him for a brief moment, eyes wide and guilt-ridden, lips pressed into a tight line. Kyungsoo had spoken softly, gently giving him the option to say everything he wanted to. Kyungsoo didn’t know if he really wanted to hear the details but couldn’t help but try to be kind to Jongin while he was obviously distressed. Jongin looked so conflicted and stressed. His understanding tone seemed to have made Jongin feel worse though, so he guessed that had back fired on him.

   “I really do like you hyung, I promise I do,” his eyes had dropped again as he’d begun speaking. He spoke quietly, a hint of a tremble threatening his words.

   He watched his fingers fiddle nervously with the hem of his shirt, but flicked his gaze back up to Kyungsoo earnestly underneath thick lashes for the briefest second as he made his promise. And Kyungsoo would be a liar if he said it didn’t absolutely melt his heart. He could feel a lump beginning to form in his throat. He’d changed his mind, he didn’t want to hear this. He didn’t want to hear the whole “you’re great, really, just not as great as him” spiel. But he was the one that started all this and he couldn’t back out now. He clenched his fists and kept quiet. He made up his mind then and there that he wouldn’t get upset, whatever happened. Not until he was alone. So he sat there as still as a statue, drawn tight and blank faced. Jongin wasn’t watching him anyway.

   “I’ve liked spending time with you and everything we’ve been doing,” continued Jongin quietly. “It’s just…it’s just for a while now I…well I’ve been thinking how much I also liked Chanyeol – as a friend I mean…except lately it’s maybe been feeling like a bit more than that.”

   Kyungsoo breathed in deep through his nose, the slight sound obvious in the room, but made no move to speak. Jongin’s brows were steadily knitting more firmly together and climbing his forehead in his obvious discomfort. He just sounded so painfully _guilty_ about liking somebody else that it hurt Kyungsoo. Before he could offer any words of comfort, Jongin began fiddling more intensely with his shirt and pushed forward.

   “I know you shouldn’t like other people when you’re,” he hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the right words to describe their relationship.

   _‘Heh, that’s right. We’re not ‘together’. I never asked.’_

   “When you’re… _involved_ with somebody already. I really did try not to, I swear, but I just kept coming back to it. And it never changed how much I like you or spending time with you…I’d still…still like to spend time with you. But I didn’t want to not tell you the truth. That wouldn’t be fair,” now Jongin looked back up at him honestly, sure of himself. “I just wanted you to know that although I might have some feelings for Chanyeol I haven’t done anything about them and – and I won’t ever.”

   He looked a little uncertain as he continued, self-conscious and perhaps a little afraid. But he made a valiant effort to maintain eye contact and continued, almost pleadingly. “I really like us spending time together and if…if you do too, then I’ll work harder to get over whatever this thing I have for him is.”

   Jongin had gone a little pink when he’d said he liked spending time with him and everything after had come out in a bit of a rush but it was clear to Kyungsoo that he meant every word. And that was…surprising. And a tiny bit wonderful.

   Jongin wasn’t leaving him apparently. That alone was more than he’d been hoping for over the last week. Kyungsoo was equally baffled and flattered at Jongin’s acknowledgement of their time together and their “involvement”. He refused to let himself get swept up in his initial delight, however, when there was still something left unresolved.

   Even though Jongin was ardently swearing never to act on his budding feelings for Chanyeol, he had still admitted that they were there. Kyungsoo had watched the two of them together, he could tell that those feelings went a lot deeper than Jongin was suggesting. Aware that he may be about to ruin his chances but needing to know once and for all exactly what he was dealing with, Kyungsoo cleared his throat at last.

   “How…how do you really feel about Chanyeol?” he asked hesitantly, voice scarcely more than a whisper.

   Jongin’s cheeks quickly flushed noticeably, eyes dropping again as his fingers twisted tightly in his shirt once more. He took a moment to really consider what his answer would be.

   “I…I _do_ like him quite a bit. He’s been a good friend to me. He’s really nice and sweet and funny too,” Jongin spoke gently, quietly, though Kyungsoo caught every word with a sinking feeling. A soft smile had spread across Jongin’s face as he thought about it. “Sometimes I think that maybe he could…that maybe he likes me a little bit too?”

   He’d said it so quietly and so _hopefully_ that Kyungsoo just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and assure him that of course Chanyeol loved him, how could he not? Everybody knew Chanyeol loved Jongin. Well apparently everybody but Jongin.

   Despite the swell of affection he felt for the younger boy when he was cute like that, his words had also left an ache in Kyungsoo’s chest. He wanted Jongin to talk about _him_ that way. To get all shy and giddy thinking about how much he likes _him._ Jongin looked back up at him timidly now, as if realising what he’d said and how he must’ve looked saying it. Jongin was curled in on himself, shoulders hunched up by his ears, looking small and a little ashamed, as though he was afraid Kyungsoo was going to get mad at him now.

   Though the ache didn’t lessen any, Kyungsoo felt himself soften a bit at that, loosening the rigid tension in his shoulders as a sign that he wasn’t angry. He was less than pleased with this development, that was for sure, but if he were upset with anyone it was Chanyeol, not Jongin. Never Jongin.

   “You really like him, don’t you?” he asked lightly, and if the words came out a little sadder than he’d meant, well, he couldn’t help it that much.

   Jongin nodded slowly. Kyungsoo sighed. He was going to regret doing this but what other choice did he have? He couldn’t just ask Jongin to ignore his feelings, that wouldn’t be right. At least this way he might not loose Jongin entirely.

   “Olay look. I won’t pretend that I like the idea of sharing you with anybody else, least of all the BFG, but if you really like him and want to see where that goes…Well, I guess we’re not technically _dating_ or anything…you can. I’m okay with that.”

   It was a lie really. He didn’t know if he’d ever be okay with Jongin sharing this side of himself with anybody but him, but he wanted Jongin to be happy above all else. In the end Kyungsoo _hadn’t_ asked him out so they weren’t really dating, even if he wanted them to be. Maybe he could try and get used to it, for Jongin.

   “Really? Oh hyung, you’re the best!” beamed Jongin, equal parts relieved and thrilled. He launched himself at Kyungsoo, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. “And don’t worry, I still like you just as much!”

   Jongin popped his head up quickly to give Kyungsoo a big kiss on the cheek, complete with an exaggerated _“mwah!”,_ before snuggling back into his neck comfortably.

   Kyungsoo huffed a laugh and held him back just as tightly. He wasn’t thrilled about sharing with the BFG yet but as long as he could still have moments like this with Jongin, he thought maybe he could get by.

 

_***_

 

   Something had changed. Chanyeol didn’t know what it was but Jongin was… _different_ now. The shift seemed to have occurred overnight and nobody else even seemed to notice it. It was subtle little differences but they were glaringly apparent to Chanyeol.

   He and Jongin had always had a reasonably good relationship. The younger was happy to spend time with him, would laugh at his jokes and always had a smile for him. But there was – dare he say it – something else in the way Jongin looked at him now. Something _more._

   However much Jongin would smile and blush when he said the right thing or made him happy somehow had always been a little reserved, as though Jongin were trying to hold something back; or so Chanyeol thought anyway. Now though? Now he seemed open and unrestrained, as if he was happy to share everything he had with Chanyeol openly. Like he _wanted_ to share it with him.

   And it gave Chanyeol some new hope.

Maybe that was why Chanyeol had asked Jongin to go somewhere with him after classes that day – just the two of them – out of the blue. He’d been thrilled when Jongin responded with equal enthusiasm. He didn’t even have anywhere particular in mind; he’d just wanted to spend a little more time with Jongin while the younger was being so openly responsive to his advances. Chanyeol wanted to soak up every bit of it he could while he had the chance.

   They’d eventually wound up getting cupcakes at a tiny little bakery Jongin knew about. It was so small and out of the way there hadn’t even been tables to sit at, just a small counter and kitchen. They’d spent their time strolling down streets aimlessly; partially distracted from each other by their cupcakes and partially distracted from their food by each other, constantly sneaking side glances when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

   Chanyeol for one, had been having a wonderful time. Even now that they’d finished their snacks and had taken a detour through the park where they’d now stopped; standing idly by the edge of the trees, out of any park-goers way. It was a comfortable rest to their walk, neither particularly pressed to get moving again; happy simply to stand with each other for a while.

   Chanyeol thought he must’ve made a joke because Jongin was laughing now and it might’ve been simply because Jongin’s smile was so infectious but he was starting to as well. He hadn’t been paying much attention to what he’d actually been saying because he’d been too busy staring at Jongin’s perfect face; which had been looking back up at him with an easy smile and bright, attentive eyes.

   But whatever he’d said, it must’ve been funny and he was pleased it had made Jongin happy. His face was lightly flushed and he smiled widely back up at Chanyeol with (what Chanyeol hoped was) so much honest affection. Jongin _glowed_ when he smiled like that. Chanyeol thought he was perfect.

   In a wild moment of reckless abandon, Chanyeol barely even felt himself push forward before finding his lips pressed quite suddenly against Jongin’s. It was so clumsy and fierce it felt like he’d done it on a dare and he felt an electric rush of adrenaline shoot through him once his brain had caught up and realised just exactly what he’d done.

   And just as quickly as he’d come, he was gone again, his own cheeks heating rapidly and probably rivalling the bright red of the younger’s. Jongin found himself stumbling forward a bit at the loss of the elder’s lips but Chanyeol hadn’t backed away more than a few inches, leaving them pressed together at their chests; Chanyeol’s arms now loosely around him, Jongin clinging to his shirt for support.

   Chanyeol stared back silently at an equally frozen Jongin, aware only of the searing heat in his cheeks and deafening rushing in his ears. Jongin stared back wide eyed and without thinking, broke the silence that had only lasted for a breath.

   “Again.”

   And Chanyeol obeyed.

 

***

 

   Chanyeol wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about his situation. On one hand, he was ecstatic that he and Jongin had moved on from just being friends. Now Chanyeol could hold his hand, go on dates, kiss him…other things. All of that was great – beyond wonderful actually. There were, however, still a few things that he _couldn’t_ do with Jongin that he _really_ wished he could.

   The first thing was that he couldn’t have Jongin all to himself. Chanyeol had assumed that first kiss in the park – and the many, _many_ more that had immediately followed – implied he and Jongin liked each other, would be together and Kyungsoo would have to try and deal with that.

   It hadn’t taken Jongin long, however, to pull back from him and explain that although he really liked Chanyeol and wanted to continue, he also happened to like Kyungsoo and wasn’t going to stop liking him anytime soon. Seemingly Kyungsoo had already given his blessing for Jongin to pursue Chanyeol and Jongin was hoping he might be open to a similar arrangement; at least for the time being. Though it wasn’t something Chanyeol had considered doing before and not exactly what he’d hoped to have with Jongin, he supposed it would be better than nothing and that he could at least try it out.

   The second thing he was not allowed to do was to have Jongin as his boyfriend. Jongin did his best to avoid the topic whenever Kyungsoo or Chanyeol tried to raise it, stating that he liked them both and didn’t want to hurt either of them and didn’t know what to do. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would inevitably melt when Jongin apologised and pleaded with them to not be upset with him and would promptly drop the issue.

   Chanyeol would have loved to claim Jongin as his official boyfriend and tell literally everybody he met that that was the case. After briefly discussing the situation with Kyungsoo in one of their patented semi-awkward, semi-competitive confrontations, they had arrived at the compromise that neither of them would be Jongin’s boyfriend until Jongin had made the decision for himself once and for all. Until then, they had a gentleman’s agreement that they could each take Jongin on dates and do relationship things without having any official labels. This was mostly to show Jongin what it would be like to date each of them until he was ready to make a decision. It was also, admittedly, a lot of fun for the two of them in the meantime.

   The third thing Chanyeol could not do was equally as jarring. They couldn’t have sex. Not even a little bit. Not even once on a special occasion. Jongin had thought that it would be unfair to whoever was left out while two of them enjoyed themselves. Jongin was trying very hard to be inclusive. He wanted all three of them to get along and was adamant that they understand and fully believe that he cares for both of them equally.

   Chanyeol supposed he could understand Jongin’s concerns. He and Kyungsoo’s accord basically put them in direct competition with each other for the coveted position of “boyfriend”. They already used kissing and dates and anything else at their disposal to try and one-up each other; it wouldn’t be classy to throw sex into that mix. Never mind the issue of who got to do it first. That could start a war and somebody was bound to get upset.

   Blessedly, they’d eventually come to the agreement that they could do _some_ things so long as they never went all the way. Chanyeol had abused that privilege at every given opportunity and had done more or less everything he could possibly think of that didn’t count as full-blown fucking. Technically though, it didn’t break any rules and he knew Kyungsoo was right up against that tenuous boundary as well. Jongin was obviously happy to bend the rules that much at least as well. They were college students in the prime of life after all. They had needs.

   So there he was: sharing his not-boyfriend, Jongin, with his frenemy, Kyungsoo, in an uncomfortably close to celibate three-way relationship. It certainly wasn’t how he’d expected his Junior year to go.

   Of course, the rest of their friends knew full well what was going on. It had become something of a private reality show at group gatherings. Jongdae, Junmyeon and Minseok were by far the most avid and outspoken viewers. They would spend most of their time at social events huddled together staring unashamedly at the trio just waiting for drama to unfold.

It had been a little uncomfortable at first to have three pairs of eyes boring holes into their skulls all the time but after a while it’d become pretty normal and Chanyeol for one even found it rather funny now. It wasn’t like they were mean about it or anything after all.

   At first, they watched on quietly and at most would mutter amongst themselves when anything of interest happened between the trio. Then they’d transitioned into what Chanyeol called their ‘sit-com’ phase. That was when they would ‘aww’ in unison at the first sign of affection or at Jongin’s cuteness; ‘ooh’ at the first snarky comment between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo; and eventually just outrightly clap and whoop when they saw something that pleased them.

   Finally, they’d evolved into the ‘couch potato’ phase and would openly commentate and shout their opinions at the trio as they would at the TV screen at home. Jongdae did most of the screaming to be honest. He’d taken to always having snacks prepared so he could sit back comfortably and munch away while he waited for the next exciting development. He usually hollered things that weren’t so much directed at them but rather anyone else who might be watching (usually Junmyeon and Minseok) as though the trio couldn’t hear him. One memorable example was Jongdae turning a few heads when he yelled at Kyungsoo _“what are you doing?! Put your arm around him, you idiot!”_ when Kyungsoo kept missing Jongin’s obvious signals for some physical contact. Jongdae had also been known to boo them when they did or said something he didn’t like and hurl his snacks at them playfully if they bored him.

   Minseok was more respectful than Jongdae – not that that was particularly hard – and while he did pitch in with the odd bit of commentary on their lives, he was usually content to observe quietly. He spent a good deal of his time grinning at, or squeaking with Junmyeon when they saw something cute; and wiggling his eyebrows at Jongdae when they heard something dirty. Chanyeol wasn’t fooled by Minseok’s feigned innocence about his so called “mild interest” in their relationship though. Minseok was a total drama-whore. At the first hint of some verbal to and fro between Kyungsoo and Chanyeol or any time their competitive edges came out, his head would instantly whip round to soak up the scene. Which he would of course vehemently deny later on if asked.

   Junmyeon was happy to grin like an idiot at cute moments with Minseok but wouldn’t join in with the giggling when things got lewd; instead gasping pained and clutching his chest dramatically, bemoaning the “corruption of his children”. They all had to laugh at what a parent he was Chanyeol was pretty sure that secretly, Junmyeon was just playing his part, even when he didn’t really mean it. Chanyeol also got the feeling that even deeper than that, Junmyeon _was_ actually their group mother and his interest in their little situation came from his desire to make sure they were okay and happy with whatever kind of relationship they wanted to try, rather than from any sort of entertainment value. And Chanyeol had to love Junmyeon for that. He’d make sure and get him a real Mother’s Day card this year.

   The other’s interests mostly came and went intermittently, but Chanyeol caught them all looking sooner or later, checking in to see what they’d missed. Obviously Baekhyun took an active interest in the situation. He was Team Chanyeol out of loyalty but was also of the opinion that they should all just get over themselves and do what they want to do. Meaning they should all screw whoever they wanted and call whomever they wanted to their boyfriend.

   “Honestly though, what difference does it make?” groaned Baekhyun for the thousandth time on free period, trying once again to get his point across. “You want Jongin to be your boyfriend. Kyungsoo wants Jongin to be his boyfriend. Seems to me that Jongin wants both of you to be his boyfriends. So just do that, why don’t you? You get a boyfriend, Kyungsoo gets a boyfriend, Jongin gets _two,_ wouldn’t that make everyone happy?”

   Chanyeol groaned in frustration at having this argument _again._ “But I want him be _my_ boyfriend – just me. And Jongin…Well I don’t think that’s what he wants, is it? He’s just trying to decide who he wants to stay with. He’ll make a decision sooner or later and then this’ll all be over.”

   “And until then you and Kyungsoo are at war,” finished Baekhyun, sarcastically but without malice. “Gotta be honest, I’m tired of hearing about your arch nemesis.”

   “You just don’t understand what I’ve had to deal with,” pressed Chanyeol, crossing his arms petulantly. “ _You_ didn’t have any competition for Sehun, so you never had to put up with anybody else.”

   “Again though, you just do your thing, he can do his and Jongin can be the only one that has to deal with both of you pains in the asses. Why do you continue to ignore my wisdom on this subject?” asked Baekhyun with a long-suffering sigh.

   “Because he’s always there when we hang out now. Jongin likes all of us to do things together now. Sure, I take him places alone when I wanna get frisky – well, as frisky as I can with this outrageous sex ban – and he does that too, but then he just brags about it all the time. Like he needs to remind me that he gets to be with Jongin too and that he’s always there when I can’t be. It’s so annoying.”

   “Um, don’t you do exactly the same thing back to him though?” inquired Jongdae, raising an eyebrow at him, unconvinced of his suffering.

   “Well of course I do, those are the rules – but that’s not the point!” snapped Chanyeol, offended that neither of them were automatically on his side.

   Chanyeol hung his head back and let out a long whine pathetically. “I’m telling you, he’s just being mean on purpose. I just wanna make a pretty boy my boyfriend…”

   Ignoring the amused eye rolls he was receiving from his friends, Chanyeol fixed them with a victimised look and asked earnestly, “seriously, has Kyungsoo always been this evil? Have I just been missing it up till now?”

   Baekhyun shrugged and grinned. “Probably because he’s so short, condensed evil, y’know?”

   “I’m being serious you ass, I’m in a crisis here.”

   “No, no he’s right actually,” weighed in Jongdae happily. “He’s shorter you see, so he’s closer to Satan.”

   It was impossible for Chanyeol not to laugh at that even though he maintained his efforts to play the victim.

   “Really though, what do I do?” he asked them genuinely. “Should I be cool with Jongin having two boy- two of us? Am I just being stupid and selfish wanting him all to myself?”

   Jongdae softened a bit and did his best to muster up some genuine input into the situation instead of another sarcastic comment. “No, I don’t think that’s selfish at all. But if you’re set on waiting for Jongin to make some kind of decision then I think you need to just deal with the three of you hanging out for a while.”

   “Yeah and you can always, if Kyungsoo’s bragging too much or thinks he’s God’s gift, just brag right back,” Baekhyun supplied. He gave Chanyeol a lopsided grin and shrugged a shoulder. “Be the best _not-_ boyfriend you can be, at least until you can be the best boyfriend you can be.”

 

***

 

   Kyungsoo loved that bit-off little groan Jongin gave him every time he sucked just hard enough in just the right place, under his ear and behind his jaw. It happened every time without fail and was always exactly the same. Kyungsoo’s tongue would sweep across the spot on his way up the brunet’s neck, startling a little gasp from Jongin. The very first time it had embarrassed the younger and he’d curled into himself as much as he could while pinned beneath the elder, but now he would go tense with anticipation, fingers curling into Kyungsoo’s shirt, knowing what was coming next. Kyungsoo would immediately retrace his path, zoning in on that particular weakness and close his lips – and occasionally teeth – around it mercilessly. By that point, Jongin would inevitably be biting his bottom lip in an attempt to stay quiet, but Kyungsoo always heard him loud and clear.

   Kyungsoo gave an answering hum of his own in satisfaction; one hand tangling in Jongin’s soft hair, taking hold and angling his head to allow himself better access to the exposed column. Jongin let himself be positioned and held willingly, panting and loose limbed, accepting anything Kyungsoo might choose to do to him. Another thing Kyungsoo loved was how wonderfully pliant Jongin was with him any time they were together; trusting Kyungsoo to do whatever he wanted and to make it feel good.

   When Kyungsoo had taken Jongin out for lunch earlier that day, he had not been expecting to wind up in this position. He really did have only the purest intentions of treating the younger to lunch. Yet before he knew it, they’d eaten and were lying tangled together on his couch, unable to keep their hands off each other. Well, he certainly wasn’t complaining.

   He had Jongin under him, weighing the younger down possessively by pressing himself tightly against his chest, legs tangled. Jongin was already hard, Kyungsoo could feel the firm jut of his erection pressing against his hip, only serving to make his own growing arousal swell to full mast. Kyungsoo nipped along the younger’s jawline, using the hand still gripping Jongin’s hair to manoeuvre his face back towards him, quickly latching back onto his already kiss swollen lips. Again, Jongin went with him willingly, lips melting back into familiar rhythms against his own with equal fervour.

   As Kyungsoo kept up his assault on Jongin’s mouth, he removed the hand from the younger’s hair, slipping it painfully slowly down the brunet’s body, finally resting it over the bulge in his tight jeans. He felt the rush of air from Jongin’s reaction against his bottom lip before surging forward again and searching out the younger’s tongue. Once he found it, Kyungsoo sucked it into his own mouth obscenely as he began a steady motion with his hand, palming Jongin through the hard material of his jeans.

   He kept that up until Jongin’s gasps and moans made it too difficult to keep their lips together for any longer than a few seconds at a time. Kyungsoo bit at the brunet’s lower lip lightly in admonishment for ruining his fun before moving down to lick at Jongin’s defined collar bones instead, using the hand that wasn’t still working Jongin’s clothed member to haphazardly pop the buttons on the brunet’s shirt, exposing even more skin for him to play with.

“Hyung~” Jongin whimpered, pressing up against Kyungsoo’s hand.

   Kyungsoo was busy leaving little pecks all over Jongin’s chest and continued to do so as he ignored the younger’s request for another agonising minute. Then he took satisfaction in taking his sweet time popping the button on Jongin’s jeans and inching the zipper down centimetre by centimetre. The zipper wasn’t even halfway down when Jongin whined pitifully in frustration, the fingers that were still curled into the back of his shirt tugging pleadingly.

   “Hyung, _please.”_

   Kyungsoo grinned against Jongin’s chest with a low chuckle. Maybe it was wrong to enjoy Jongin’s frustration, but he liked to make the younger want sometimes, liked to torture him just that little bit. It was just nice seeing how badly Jongin wanted him to continue, how badly he wanted Kyungsoo. He relented soon enough though and slipped his hand inside the now fully open jeans, continuing to fondle the brunet through his underwear.

   Jongin huffed a little in annoyance. It wasn’t really enough for him but he knew from experience that Kyungsoo simply would not be rushed. He’d take what he could get he guessed.

   Jongin was warm and firm in Kyungsoo’s hand, the thin material of his underwear a barely there barrier. He could feel the material beginning to dampen as he continued to work Jongin up and it turned him on more than he cared to admit. Kyungsoo found himself grinding down into the old couch cushions just to find some relief of his own as his mouth continued to work up and down Jongin’s torso.

Jongin was rolling his hips up into his hand now and Kyungsoo was happy to let him for the time being. It definitely helped that he loved watching the tight muscles in his stomach roll and flex as the younger moved.

   Jongin was quickly falling apart under him and Kyungsoo loved every second of it. Jongin was swallowing back groans as best he could but could do next to nothing to stop his eager huffing breaths as he continued to move desperately against the elder. He still had one arm wrapped around Kyungsoo’s back, practically clawing through the material of his shirt while his other hand threaded through his dark hair, holding the back of his head firmly as if to ensure that the elder would not stop licking and sucking his way across his torso.

   Kyungsoo had no intention whatsoever of stopping. He was revelling in just how wonderfully _noisy_ Jongin could be. He was usually so quiet and unassuming with their group, his other friends or even when they went on dates. He could be a little shy sure, but he’d still talk and laugh and everything he was just a little _quiet_ sometimes. Kyungsoo didn’t think there was anything wrong with that of course, he himself was one of the quieter ones in their group of friends. Though, he supposed _anyone_ would seem quiet next to Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Jongdae. But here in these private moments between them when he surrendered himself to Kyungsoo, Jongin was anything but quiet. And Kyungsoo could never get enough of it.

   “Kyung- _soo_ …please, just come _on_ already – _ahn!”_ he begged, moaning all the while.

   Kyungsoo looked up at him under thick lashes, smirking devilishly, making Jongin thrust up powerfully at the sight. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”

   Kyungsoo scooted back to the end of the sofa, Jongin’s legs spread on either side of him. It wasn’t a very big sofa and didn’t leave them a lot of room with Jongin still spread out on his back but he didn’t want to make the younger move back either. It was a little awkward and he wouldn’t able to press his crotch against the cushions anymore but he’d make do. He had done this in more cramped and less pleasant conditions plenty of times before.

   Kyungsoo tugged down the brunet’s jeans, Jongin eagerly raising his hips to make it easier. Kyungsoo took the time to look him over briefly before continuing. It was a sight he’d never get tired of: Jongin sprawled before him, shirt thrown open, jeans almost at his knees, underwear doing almost nothing to conceal his aching member. Not to mention his mussed hair, red, bitten lips only just a shade darker than the flush in his cheeks, dark half-lidded eyes watching him provocatively.

   He had to shake himself out of his revere to hook his fingers under the waistband of Jongin’s boxers and slide them down and out of the way, exposing his member at last. Jongin let out a gasp of relief at not being confined any longer.

   Kyungsoo took him in hand, giving a few slow strokes and hovering, lips just short of the leaking head, breath puffing warm and wet over it torturously. Jongin looked down at him, teeth digging into the lip he had trapped between his teeth. The picture of desperation and arousal.

   “Kyungsoo, _please_ just hurry!” he wailed helplessly in frustration.

   Conceding at last, Kyungsoo wrapped his lips around Jongin’s dick and got to work, sliding up and down the shaft with no great urgency. Every now and then the hand that he had holding the base of the shaft would switch to gently rolling his balls and then back again.

   This was something they found themselves doing rather often, so Kyungsoo was reasonably confident that he knew what Jongin liked. And Kyungsoo liked giving it to him. He curled his tongue just right, took just enough of Jongin’s length in, sucked around the head alone just hard enough. Kyungsoo was a generally modest man but he wouldn’t lie; he was pretty fucking fantastic at this. Jongin was a moaning writhing mess from the moment his lips had closed around him. And he wasn’t even really trying yet.

   It wasn’t long before Jongin was hassling him again, unsatisfied with the slow lazy sucks he gave, despite how deep he took him on occasion. Not that Jongin wasn’t loving it and couldn’t have gotten off from it, but he was just _so_ hard and _so_ turned on – he needed to just come already.

   “Please hyung – _hnngh!_...No more teasing,” he panted, sounding totally wrecked already.

   Wasting no more time, Kyungsoo sped up his pace, bobbing his head hard and fast, hollowing his cheeks until it almost hurt, sucking as hard as he could. His hand was quickly jerking whatever his mouth couldn’t cover at this pace. Usually he liked to take it slower – either spoiling Jongin or torturing him, depending on the situation – but he wasn’t an asshole, he could hear how badly the younger needed it and he was happy to comply. This time it’d be fast and dirty and Kyungsoo didn’t mind that one bit.

   It couldn’t have been more than a minute until Jongin was grabbing at his hair, trying to tug him back in warning (for all the noise he was making, words seemed to be beyond him at the moment), and he was coming down Kyungsoo’s throat. For his part, Kyungsoo didn’t mind at all, waiting patiently for the last wave before swallowing it all down without complaint. He kept up a slow, lazy drag of his lips up and down Jongin’s dick as it began to soften, letting the younger ride out the rest of his high.

Jongin had tensed all over with a deep thrust into Kyungsoo’s mouth when he came, head thrown back pressed deeply into the couch cushions. Only now did the tension leave him and he sunk back against the sofa boneless and satisfied, a thoroughly pleased groan forcing its way past his closed lips as he relaxed.

   Kyungsoo sat back up on his heels feeling pretty proud of himself at the sight of the younger so spent and sated. His attention was quickly returning to his own aching and ignored dick still straining against the t

ight confines of his own jeans. Feeling like he deserved it, he hastily popped open his pants and pulled his member free, already feeling better at that brief bit of contact. Before he had even gotten one good stroke in, Jongin was coming back to himself and watching him, wide-eyed and thoroughly interested. Kyungsoo saw Jongin gulp – hell, he _heard_ it – and had to grip his shaft tightly to stop from jerking his hips forward roughly.

   Jongin licked his lips as he tried to remember how words were formed, blatantly staring at the leaking cock in front of him. Kyungsoo would be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel just a little bit smug.

   “Can…can I do it?” asked Jongin sheepishly, as if Kyungsoo had ever, or would ever refuse.

   Licking his own lips eagerly, Kyungsoo nodded in reply, pleased for the offer. He’d have been fine to quickly jerk off on his own but he would never pass up the opportunity to have Jongin’s hands on him.

   The brunet sat up quickly, keenly pushing Kyungsoo back to sit against the arm of the couch more comfortably. Kyungsoo let himself be manhandled and after an awkward moment of Jongin frowning slightly to himself (all the while staring at Kyungsoo’s dick – which was still in his own hand, by the way), offered his member hesitantly, feeling immediately stupid as soon as he’d done it but confused as to what the issue was. Jongin had offered right? So why wasn’t he grabbing hold?

   Jongin shook his head (again, seemingly to himself) and stood up off the couch, hastily tucking himself away and pulling his pants back up again. He didn’t bother to zip them back up, instead leaving them wide open to casually display his underwear. His shirt was still undone as well, leaving his tight muscles openly presented as well. Kyungsoo thought it was unfairly attractive, with his hair still messed up a little too like that.

   “It’ll be better like this,” Jongin informed him, as he again manhandled Kyungsoo to sit with his back against the back of the sofa, legs hanging off the edge as usual, before finally sinking to his knees between the elder’s parted thighs.

   “ _Oh,_ you’re going to…ohhh,” mumbled Kyungsoo, catching on. Excitement sparked in his chest. Jongin also gave _very_ good blow jobs.

   Jongin smirked back up at him radiating confidence and it was aggressively sexy. “I wanna return the favour.”

   Kyungsoo grinned back, more than happy to let him. “Go right ahead.”

   Now, Jongin took his neglected member from him and wasted no time swallowing down an impressive part of his length in one fluid, practised motion. He launched into it without pretence or foreplay; eager to please and knowing Kyungsoo would prefer to come quickly after not even having touched himself throughout their previous activities.

   The younger’s speed did not for a second diminish the quality of the blow job and Kyungsoo was, as always, thoroughly impressed by his talent for it. He sunk back against the sofa, knowing it wouldn’t take long to come at this rate, simply enjoying the attention while it lasted. Kyungsoo wasn’t nearly as loud as Jongin, but he made sure the younger knew what a stellar job he was doing and how much he was enjoying it.

   He ran a gentle hand tenderly through Jongin’s hair, brushing back his bangs, in way of praise for how well he was doing and how loved he was. Jongin’s big dark eyes flicked up to meet his own and Kyungsoo knew the younger understood him and that the love was being mirrored right back at him.

   As Jongin’s head continued to dip quickly on his member, Kyungsoo found himself rolling his hips forwards in time with the brunet’s movements without meaning to. He found himself unable to stop the little thrusts into that tight, wet heat; the feeling was simply too good. Jongin did not seem to mind, however, making no move to stop him, dark stare egging him to continue as much as he liked.

“ _Jongin_ ,” he huffed breathlessly, that familiar feeling coiling tightly in his stomach.

   He made to sit up straighter, attempt to retract his hips in warning but Jongin’s hands were suddenly grabbing at his thighs, holding him in place, head bobbing faster, the wet suction of his mouth enclosing him impossibly tighter. The message in his gaze was clear. It seemed Jongin wanted to _fully_ return the favour.

   Unable to hold back any longer, Kyungsoo’s hips snapped forward sharply and he came undone with a strangled cry. Jongin held his softening member for a moment longer as Kyungsoo had done for him, lapping gently at the sensitive head, ensuring he’d gotten every last drop before finally releasing him.

   “Wow,” exhaled Kyungsoo in a puff of air, grinning at him dorkily. “That was pretty awesome, not gonna lie. Good job.”

   Jongin laughed, sitting back on his heels, looking pleased with himself, a flattering pink tint to his cheeks at the praise.

   “You weren’t bad yourself,” the younger smiled. “I hope we do this again soon.”

 

***

 

   Chanyeol felt the air being knocked out of Jongin as he pushed him back against the door they’d just stumbled through. It was hard not to feel it with his lips pressed as tightly as they were against the brunet’s. Not that Jongin really seemed to mind the rough treatment. That was one thing Chanyeol had learned in their time together.

   So Chanyeol wasn’t surprised when he gripped under Jongin’s thighs and made to lift him that the younger went with him willingly, enthusiastically hopping up and wrapping his legs around Chanyeol’s waist, arms around his neck, clinging to the back of his shirt for support. Chanyeol kept him pinned tightly against the door, teasing his bottom lip and sliding his hands back to grope at his ass.

   Jongin gave him a little groan as his hips started a minute grind into the firm press of Chanyeol’s abs. Eager to return in kind, Chanyeol adjusted Jongin’s position so he could roll his own hips up against the younger’s tight cheeks. He wrapped one arm around the brunet’s waist, the other around his back; large hand hooking over his shoulder, gently kneading while holding him securely down against his crotch. Chanyeol buried his face in the crook of the younger’s neck, attacking it with his mouth so he could clearly hear every sound he pulled from him.

   “You know, we could just stay right here if you like it so much,” murmured Chanyeol against Jongin’s neck. “I could fuck you right here against the door.”

   Chanyeol gave a few hard thrusts against him, making the door rattle in its frame. Jongin moaned obscenely.

   “Hm, you _would_ like that, wouldn’t you?” he chuckled lowly, lips brushing the sensitive skin as he spoke. “See how much the door’s moving? How loud it is, rattling about like that? If anybody were out there in the hall, it’d be so _obvious_ what we were doing. And after how loud you’ve been, how loud I’d make you get…well everybody would know exactly what I was doing to you. And how much you _loved_ it.”

   Jongin was practically panting in his ear, making Chanyeol smirk in satisfaction. Another thing he’d quickly learned was that Jongin was a total sucker for dirty talk. It had been a while since he’d been with anyone that was particularly into it, but Chanyeol liked to think he still had a way with words that could get a guy sufficiently hot and bothered.

   “You sound so good, I bet somebody would even stop to listen. Bet they’d just stand out in the hall like a total pervert watching the door rattle, listening to you getting _railed_ against it. Heh, I could even turn you round if you like so you can watch ‘em through the peep hole, see ‘em getting off to you getting off.”

   Chanyeol smirked against him when he heard Jongin’s mindless moans. “Though, judging by the noise you’re making and how-“ he gave another solid thrust “- _hard_ you are right now, maybe _you’re_ the pervert in this situation, huh baby?”

   “Chanyeol,” moaned Jongin, face flushing with equal embarrassment and need. His fists were almost tearing through the elder’s shirt at this point.

   “Oh, don’t worry sweetheart,” he continued, voice low and dripping with charm. “We’re not _really_ gonna do that.”

   Chanyeol raised his lips to whisper breathily into the brunet’s ear, making the younger positively shiver with arousal. “I don’t want anybody else hearing how hot you sound getting off for me. Tonight, you’re all mine.”

   He basically growled the last part and Jongin bucked against him helplessly with a bit out cry.

   “Hyung, please,” he whined, sounding very close to the edge already. To be fair, there had been _quite_ a bit of foreplay on their way back to Chanyeol’s place.

   Chanyeol grinned roguishly at him before reclaiming his mouth with a renewed ferocity which Jongin eagerly matched. Chanyeol held the younger close to him as he pushed away from the door and strode with purpose towards the living room. Not quite able to make it to the couch with how much Jongin was squirming against him, eager to get down to it again, Chanyeol had to settle for pushing Jongin back up against another wall. At least it wasn’t a door; nobody would hear them here and he could have Jongin all to himself.

   Soon enough, he was dropping the younger’s legs from around his waist, Jongin happily standing on his own two feet for the brief moment before Chanyeol’s hands were back on his rear, the hard wall of the elder’s chest and stomach pinning him against the wall once again.

   Chanyeol moved a thigh between Jongin’s willingly parted legs, pressing in just enough to melt the startled gasp into a moan of pleasure that left the brunet’s lips in a rush. Jongin’s hands slid down to grip the elder’s hips hard, fingers digging welts into his skin that Chanyeol did not mind a bit. Jongin held him firmly in place – like he’d go anywhere – and began rolling his hips desperately against him, moaning long and loud.

   Chanyeol was happy to let him continue as he pleased for a while. It was inexplicably hot to feel Jongin’s hard dick pressing into his thigh, his fingers probably bruising the exposed skin of his hip bones where his jeans had slipped down a bit, and the heavy weight of Jongin’s head against his shoulder where he’d leant it; hiding his flushed face as he did whatever he could to feel good.

   Chanyeol gave Jongin’s ass another good squeeze before moving his hands up to the waistband at the back of Jongin’s jeans. The younger had neglected to wear a belt today (Chanyeol chose to believe this was a conscious choice on the younger’s part, a pre-meditated move to allow him easier access. He appreciated the consideration.) allowing his hands to slide right under and into his underwear without delay.

   He heard Jongin’s sharp intake of air as his hands met warm flesh and Chanyeol had to bite back his own groan. He rolled the tight muscles absently for a while, enjoying the feel of them. Jongin turned his head into the taller’s chest more with a pleased whine as he continued to grind on his thigh. Chanyeol turned his head slightly, chin gently resting in Jongin’s hair, hands still working in the back of Jongin’s jeans.

   “Don’t I make you feel good?” he asked quietly, voice like silk.

   One finger lightly traced the crack of Jongin’s ass, hesitating only briefly before gently rubbing over his entrance. There was no disguising the stuttering buck of Jongin’s hips or the aroused whimper he failed to muffle in Chanyeol’s shirt.

   “It could be better…Let me?”

   Jongin whined weakly, face pressing into Chanyeol’s neck in an attempt to hide his conflict.

   “N-no…Kyungsoo,” pleaded Jongin, in little more than a whisper. His fingers were tighter than before on Chanyeol’s hips but the elder knew it wasn’t because he was turned on this time. Jongin was afraid Chanyeol would pull away and leave him because he didn’t want to do that yet. It broke Chanyeol’s heart just a little bit and he carefully removed both hands from Jongin’s pants, wrapping them around the younger in a tight hug instead. He dipped his head to give the younger’s pink cheek a quick peck of reassurance.

   “It’s okay,” he breathed in a barely audible whisper. He straightened up and pressed himself flat against the brunet, hands now resting gently on his waist, thumbs rubbing little circles into his hip bones.

   Jongin returned his soft smile gratefully and they were kissing again before they knew it. Soft and sweet and just a little bit hot.

   In just a few moments, Chanyeol felt Jongin’s fingers working at his belt, the small metallic sounds of the buckle clear in the quiet room. It was such a small thing but feeling Jongin’s fingers pulling down his zipper so teasingly slowly like that was honestly one of the biggest turn ons Chanyeol had ever experienced. When Jongin flashed him a pointed look, Chanyeol hurried to follow suit and got to work on the younger’s jeans too.

   Once they were both freed from their confines, Chanyeol took over again with Jongin more than happy to let him take the lead. Chanyeol kept their bodies tight together and pressed his cock flush against Jongin’s, his large hand accommodating them both without much issue. He started up a slow stroke; the generous amount of pre-come they’d both worked up easing the way, while Jongin kept moving his hips subtly, seemingly unable to stop.

   Their increasingly slick cocks continued to slide against each other, both of them now enthusiastically rocking their hips, while Chanyeol’s hand worked them expertly, squeezing just tightly enough to make them both loose their minds.

   Chanyeol had his head dipped slightly to see what he was doing and as he felt himself getting closer to the edge, Jongin tipped his forward too, resting his forehead comfortably against the elder. It didn’t take long for them to come with soft groaning exhales. Chanyeol didn’t let go of their softening members right away, keeping up a pleasantly lazy rhythm as they came back down.

   Jongin looked up at him from under his lashes, foreheads still pressed together, and gave him a grin, which Chanyeol of course returned with a contented breathy laugh.

 

***

 

   When Jongin had begged Kyungsoo and Chanyeol to go on a date with all three of them together, they had both been sceptical of how much fun they would really be able to have sharing Jongin in such close proximity to one another. But as it was Jongin asking, they inevitably agreed to do it.

   They all met outside an arcade and as they headed inside, Kyungsoo skipped ahead to hold the door open for Jongin, who thanked him politely with a smile. Kyungsoo was polite enough to let Chanyeol follow before entering himself but still immature enough to grin at him smugly. Chanyeol took that as a challenge.

   Chanyeol’s opportunity followed soon after when they decided to start by playing some pool and the rack was up on a high shelf above the cues on the stand on the wall. Jongin was just a little to short to reach it, so of course Kyungsoo had no chance – though that hadn’t stopped him from trying, much to Chanyeol’s amusement. Chanyeol reached effortlessly over their heads to retrieve the rack and pass it to Jongin happily, sending a shit-eating grin at a very irritated looking Kyungsoo. It had rather set the mood for the rest of their date.

   Throughout their time in the arcade, there were plenty more examples of their competitive sides resurfacing. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo would take any games that Jongin had them play together as a matter of pride and fought tooth and nail for the highest score; the winner more often than not receiving Jongin’s excited praise. Of course, when either of them played against Jongin it was only ever in good fun, neither particularly minding if they happened to lose to the younger. Whoever was watching them from the side-lines would gasp in shock if they beat Jongin and scold the other about how he could do that to their poor little Jongin.

   There was also the time Chanyeol had won a little phone charm shaped like a cute little chicken and presented it proudly to Jongin as a gift. Seeing Jongin’s delight, Kyungsoo had promptly disappeared, returning a while later to gift Jongin with a large stuffed toy he’d run off to win; going on about how he had picked it out especially for him instead of just giving him any random thing he _happened_ to win, shooting Chanyeol a very pointed look.

   While Jongin was absorbed with his new toy, Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes over the younger’s head at Chanyeol, mouthing “mine’s bigger”. Chanyeol glared right back at him because dammit, his _was_ bigger.

   Despite the competition, however, they did still all manage to have a really good time together. For all the times Kyungsoo and Chanyeol would make childish faces at each other behind Jongin’s back or make little jibes at one another, it felt more playful than before. And there were just as many times where there was no silly rivalry and they were just hanging out like they used to as friends. It was kinda nice. Judging by the quietly proud little smirks Jongin had been giving them all day, he was obviously pleased with them as well for getting along.

   When they’d eventually finished up in the arcade hours later, they’d strolled aimlessly before stopping at a picnic site at one of the various lookouts around the city. From up on the hill they could stand by the railing and see the city sprawled out before them. It was quite a popular place with tourists mostly but it wasn’t really the season and was subsequently pretty quiet for them. There was only the odd jogger passing by and a couple of fellow wanders with nothing to do floating around. The sight would be best at night when all the lights had come on of course, but the view was still pretty impressive during the day as well.

   Not that the boys spent much of their time admiring the view. They occupied a table and messed around for a while, chatting and joking with each other. They had no further plans for the day but weren’t quite ready to call it quits yet. They found it easy and comfortable to do nothing at all with each other and were content to do just that.

   When it _was_ finally time they called it quits, Jongin jumped up from the table excitedly.

   “Before we go, I wanna get a picture of the three of us,” he beamed, eyes bright. “Can we?”

   The elder two acquiesced easily, rising from the table to join him. They took their places on either side of the younger boy. Jongin pulled out his phone and offered it to Kyungsoo.

   “Will you take it hyung?”

   It would be an easier angle to fit all three of them in from the end of the row than the middle; so Kyungsoo complied and started seeking out the best shot. Regardless of how much they squeezed together or whatever way Kyungsoo twisted his wrist it was much more difficult to get all of them comfortably in the picture than anticipated. Kyungsoo was obviously getting frustrated, stretching his arm as far as possible to give them more room.

   “You’re too damn tall, Chanyeol. You don’t fit in the screen,” he huffed.

   “Give it here and let a pro show you how it’s done,” snarked Chanyeol, taking Jongin’s phone from him.

   Chanyeol’s longer arms made it considerably easier to not only get enough distance to fit them all in but also afforded a higher, more flattering angle. Junmyeon could tell Baekhyun and he they were self-obsessed all he wanted but all their selca taking had provided him with useful life skills for situations just like this.

   He raised his eyebrows at Kyungsoo with a self-satisfied grin as he handed the phone back to Jongin, laughing when Kyungsoo rolled his eyes half-heartedly. Jongin was very pleased with the photo, immediately sending it to the other boys. They both had to admit, after taking a proper look, it was a pretty good photo. Part of the view was visible in the shot behind them which was nice but more importantly; they all just looked happy. Really happy. And that was what they all liked best about the picture.

   Jongin said he was going to print it off properly and get it framed for his apartment. He kept smiling down at it dopily before stepping out in front of the older boys, turning to face them.

   “Can I take one of you two as well?” he asked, raising his phone hopefully.

   Chanyeol and Kyungsoo eyed each other briefly before shrugging and stepping minutely closer together. There was a long moment of Jongin telling them to get closer and them sliding only fractionally closer in response, only to be reprimanded and told once again.

   Eventually Chanyeol got fed up and exclaimed “oh, c’mere then!” before hooking an arm around Kyungsoo’s neck and dragging him in tightly. Jongin was giggling away, snapping an absurd number of photos while Chanyeol manoeuvred Kyungsoo in front of him, arm still around his neck in what was more of a headlock than a hug. The taller was grinning away happily while Kyungsoo tried to smile in between feeble attempts to escape, pawing half-heartedly at Chanyeol’s arm. It was not the first time Chanyeol had done this to him. The taller had made something of a habit out of it and Kyungsoo had more or less just learned to roll with it.

   It really hadn’t been such a bad day at all.

 

***

 

   “Wait, _what?”_ exclaimed Chanyeol, dropping everything to stare at a startled Tao.

   “I-I said I’m staying with Kris tonight because Jongin has Kyungsoo over to tutor him?” repeated the younger, confused by the apparent importance of where he spent the night.

   “Why do you have to stay out if he’s only tutoring him? What are they _really_ doing?” asked Chanyeol suspiciously, squinting at an affronted Tao.

   “Well they’re studying for his trigonometry test tomorrow. Jongin sucks at trigonometry. It’ll take all night and I don’t wanna be in the way, y’know,” he answered helplessly, shrugging.

   “ _Taooo_ , how could you?!” cried Chanyeol, throwing his arms up dramatically in exasperation. “How could you _knowingly_ leave my baby alone with _Satansoo –_ he’ll corrupt him!”

   “Isn’t that kinda what you’ve been wanting to do since you met him though?” pointed out Sehun, quirking an accusing eyebrow at him.

   “Exactly my point – it’s _my_ job, not his!”

   “I think you may be overacting here buddy,” pitched in Baekhyun calmly.

   Chanyeol stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape. He grabbed the other boy by the shoulders and shook him harshly as he spoke. “They’re _studying,_ Baekhyun. You _know_ what that means!”

   Chanyeol promptly released his friend, plopping back down on his stool and held a hand to his cheek dramatically in woe, staring ahead blankly with a gasp of realisation. “I bet they’re doing it right now.”

   “I really don’t think – “ Baekhyun tried once more before Chanyeol had cut him off, jumping to his feet.

   “Nope! They’re doing it and I need to stop them. Gotta go!” he announced decidedly, promptly rushing from the coffee shop; leaving behind a flummoxed Tao, an amused Sehun and an exasperated Baekhyun.

   It didn’t take him long to reach Jongin’s apartment but every second counts when you’re sure people are getting it on without you. Chanyeol flew up the stairs to Jongin’s door, eternally thankful that he’d been gifted a key (even if Kyungsoo had gotten one too), and let himself in, barging noisily into the apartment.

   “Stop it! Stop the sex! No sex without Chanyeol – that was the deal!” he yelled, coming to a halt before the duo in the living room.

   Kyungsoo was sitting cross-legged on the floor against the couch fully clothed (thank god), book open in his lap and looking up at Chanyeol as though he were an idiot. Jongin was lying on his stomach on the floor, books open around him, also fully clothed (thank you very much) and was staring up at Chanyeol in surprise, a light flush rising on his face.

   “We were just studying, hyung,” Jongin replied, sounding scandalised and blushing more noticeably as he continued. “You know we haven’t…done _that_ yet.”

   “Yeah, it’s just trigonometry. I’ll try to keep my pants on,” supplied Kyungsoo, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

   “Sexy trigonometry?” probed Chanyeol, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Kyungsoo.

   “Uh no. Just the normal kind.”

   “The boring kind,” whimpered Jongin pitifully, shoulders slumping, dropping his head with a small thump onto one of his textbooks in defeat.

   Chanyeol relaxed quickly, making himself at home next to Jongin, grinning at him lopsidedly. “Aw baby don’t worry, I’m here now and we’ll have a great time. I won’t let mean ol’ Kyungsoo bore you anymore.”

   Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at him and tilted his head at the comment. Chanyeol merely stuck out his tongue playfully, wiggling his eyebrows. Having missed the teasing exchange, a horrified Jongin whipped his head round to stare earnestly at Kyungsoo.

   “Ah, _you_ don’t bore me hyung!” he cried in hasty assurance, before averting his gaze sheepishly and adding in a mumble, “I’m just a little tired of studying is all.”

   “Well then, I think that’s enough studying for one day,” beamed Chanyeol, casually picking up a notebook and tossing it across the room behind him.

   Jongin’s lips curled up slightly at the idea of stopping but Kyungsoo cleared his throat authoritatively, levelling Chanyeol with a disapproving stare.

   “Jongin _needs_ to study, he has a test tomorrow. Unlike you, he actually wants to pass.”

   “Didn’t you just hear him? He’s bored out his mind. He’s had enough and personally _I_ think he’s clever enough to wing it,” he smiled proudly at Jongin, ruffling his hair affectionately. Then he looked back to Kyungsoo, jutting out his jaw confrontationally. “Leave the poor kid alone, huh?”

   “No, it’s alright,” interjected Jongin, already looking glum. “Kyungsoo is right. I really do need to study if I’m going to have any chance of passing.”

   Chanyeol looked at him sympathetically. “Well, alright then. A little longer and then we’ll have some fun, okay? I’ll stick around to cheer you up as soon as Kyungsoo let’s you out to play.”

   Jongin tried to stifle his giggle as Kyungsoo rolled his eyes again.

   “For your information, Jongin _asked_ me to help him but I don’t remember anyone inviting the BFG. You sticking around is only going to distract him.”

   Chanyeol crossed his legs, getting comfortable on the floor. He let out a defiant huff and looked away from Kyungsoo, pouting stubbornly. “Not your house, so you can’t kick me out.”

   Chanyeol crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at him rebelliously, wiggling it like a little kid, enjoying how amused Jongin looked at his antics. Kyungsoo took a long, suffering breath and refocused on the book in his lap, clearly sulking.

   “Oh lighten up, Soo, I’m not really gonna distract him.”

   “Then be quiet,” huffed Kyungsoo irritably.

   Chanyeol obediently sat in silence – or as close to silence as he was capable – watching with little interest as Kyungsoo continued tutoring poor Jongin in one of the most boring subjects in the world. Chanyeol didn’t blame Jongin for not wanting to study anymore. He didn’t even have to answer any of the problems Kyungsoo was handing out and his head still hurt.

   Chanyeol pretty much broke his promise not to be a distraction within the first half hour. Any opportunity he got, he was nudging Jongin’s side with his foot for attention and making faces at Kyungsoo’s back to make the brunet giggle. He’d tear pages out of spare notebooks to make paper planes to bombard Kyungsoo with – accidentally of course ( _“Hey, they go wherever the wind takes em!”_ ). He’d roll pages into little balls and bat them around the room or hit himself repeatedly in the face with a notebook complaining about how bored he was.

   Okay, so maybe he was a _little_ disruptive, but trigonometry was SO boring.

   After about forty-five minutes of that hell and more problems than anyone should ever have to solve in a lifetime, Chanyeol was at his wit’s end and figured poor Jongin had surely learned enough and they could do something else now. Maybe something that didn’t make him want to slam a notebook into his face every two seconds.

   Careful to move slowly enough that Kyungsoo wouldn’t notice him immediately and give him into trouble, Chanyeol slid over to Jongin, crawling on his tummy to be on the brunet’s level. Jongin looked at him – clearly crying out for some entertainment – staying still and quiet so as not to draw unwanted attention from Kyungsoo, who was busy marking his last set of problems.

   “Kiss me ~ I’m _booored_ ,” whined Chanyeol under his breath.

   Jongin smiled at him brightly, leaning over to press a soft kiss against his lips. Chanyeol shook his head, bit his lip teasingly and slid a little further forward.

   “Properly~”

   Jongin grinned and happily did as he was told. This time with tongue and everything. They continued on, grinning against each other at their clever sneakiness, textbooks lying forgotten at Jongin’s side.

   “You two _do_ realise I can see you, right?” Asked Kyungsoo, raising a disapproving eyebrow at the lack of studying going on at the moment.

   “Sorry, _teacher,”_ mumbled Chanyeol petulantly, rolling his eyes.

   Jongin turned dark eyes on Kyungsoo, giving him an attractive little smirk.

   “Aw hyung, don’t worry. You can have one too.”

   Jongin crawled across the floor to the elder, hands moving to cup the back of his neck and face as he kissed Kyungsoo long and slow. Chanyeol honestly could not have been prouder of Jongin, roping Kyungsoo in instead of submitting to more study torture. If ever there was a time to kiss another man besides him, this was it. Jongin pulled away after a moment biting his lip with a coy little smile.

   That shut Kyungsoo up. He was torn between still trying to look admonishing and his obvious interest in doing that again. Jongin was looking very pleased with himself and Chanyeol just thought it was funny that Kyungsoo would even try to pretend he wanted to keep studying after the way he’d been kissing back.

   “Well, if you’re not going to enjoy it properly, more for me I guess,” teased Chanyeol. “C’mere, Jongin.”

   He gently pulled the younger back over to him, helping him get comfortable straddling his lap, before picking up where they’d left off. Chanyeol only had a few minutes to enjoy it before Kyungsoo was suddenly behind Jongin, pulling the younger back a little, lips ghosting over his neck just below his ear.

   “Who said I wasn’t enjoying it, huh?” he whispered lowly, making Jongin’s thighs tense around Chanyeol’s in excitement.

   “Kyungsoo,” moaned Jongin when he felt the elder’s teeth on his neck just how he liked.

Chanyeol was nipping at his earlobe by the time Kyungsoo had worked his way down his neck to what little of his shoulder was available under his shirt. Kyungsoo sucked hard on the soft skin there, while his finger sought out the hem of Jongin’s T-shirt, eventually dragging it up his torso and over his head. Chanyeol allowed the shirt to come off, following it’s progress with his own hands sliding feather-light up Jongin’s now exposed sides, making the brunet shiver delightfully.

   Kyungsoo pressed himself up against Jongin’s back, feeling the heat from the younger’s skin bleeding through his to his own chest. His hands took full advantage of the newly exposed skin, roaming freely. Jongin had one hand hooked round Chanyeol’s neck, fisting the collar of his shirt and the other on Kyungsoo’s thigh for support. Each time Kyungsoo’s hands found a particularly sensitive spot, he’d feel the hand on his thigh tense with a light squeeze and he’d know to carry right on.

Chanyeol was busy kissing Jongin senseless again. Jongin had relaxed back against Kyungsoo’s chest, so Chanyeol had to lean further forward now but he didn’t mind that. Kyungsoo would enjoy having Jongin pressed against him and each time Chanyeol leant over he could feel the stiffening bulge in the younger’s pants against him, which he certainly wouldn’t complain about.

   Soon enough, Jongin was pulling away, licking his lips in a lazy way Chanyeol thought was downright filthy, pupils blown wide.

   “Take off your shirts,” he ordered, voice slow and thick and alluring. “It’s not fair if it’s just me.”

   It didn’t take either boy long to fulfil the request and when they pressed together again it was skin to skin. Nobody was shy about looking; eyes roamed everywhere, drinking in every muscle hungrily. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo weren’t shy about staring at each other just as much as they did at Jongin. In the heat of the moment, whatever turns you on, turns you on. It didn’t have to be a big deal and that was something they all understood. They were all fair game if they were gonna do this.

   Switching it up a little, Kyungsoo took over making out; Jongin eagerly turning his face back to meet him. Chanyeol spent most of his energy mapping out Jongin’s chest with his mouth, leaving shiny wet trails in his wake.

   Chanyeol’s hands had settled briefly on Jongin’s hip bones but after giving a gentle squeeze were now sliding back to get reacquainted with the brunet’s ass. Kyungsoo followed suit curling his hands around his hips before taking a different route; sliding down around the younger’s crotch, getting teasingly close but continuing on to his thighs, rubbing back and forth from hips to knees, steadily driving the younger wild.

   Between them, Jongin was effectively held in place but had enough wriggle room to start up a slow but purposeful grind; rolling his hips firmly seeking attention.

   Jongin turned away from Kyungsoo’s mouth, head falling back against the elder’s shoulder as he stared at the ceiling breathlessly, wrapped up in the sensation of the older boys’ hands on him. His cheeks were red and he was beginning to pant, more turned on than he could ever remember being.

   “I know we weren’t going to go that far…but we’re all here now, all together,” began Jongin, breathless and hesitant. He really was far too horny for making speeches at the moment. “Can’t we try…is that ok?”

   Both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol froze for a moment, staring back wide-eyed. Did Jongin _finally_ just give them permission to fuck him? And did he really think he’d have to convince them to go for it? Kyungsoo and Chanyeol locked eyes over Jongin’s shoulder, both thinking the same thing.

   Possibly misreading the hesitation, Jongin continued on; almost whining now as he pled, wanting them both to touch him so badly.

   “I mean that way everyone’s involved, no one’s left out…and I really think I need you guys to hurry up and fuck me now,” he complained impatiently, rolling his hips imploringly. “And oh, look at how hard both of you are now. Couldn’t be a better time for it, really.”

   As he said the last part, Jongin’s hands located each of their confined erections, squeezing teasingly to make his point. He continued to palm them firmly, partially to bring them round to the idea and partially because he was fucking turned on and liked how it felt. Jongin sighed in satisfaction when he felt both boys pressing back eagerly into his hands.

   “Fuck yes I’m up for that,” breathed Chanyeol, too horny to even grin.

   “Hell yeah, let’s do it,” groaned Kyungsoo, nipping at the top of Jongin’s ear.

   “Thank God,” moaned Jongin, thrusting his hips up insistently. “Now, can one of you hurry up ad touch me? Not to ruin the magic, but I want to get to the fucking quickly.”

   Now Chanyeol did laugh. He loved the change in Jongin’s personality when he was in the right mood. He adored cute, quiet, public little Jongin who he could dote on and show off to the world. But he could also never get enough of slutty, loud, bedroom Jongin who was just for him. Well – him and Kyungsoo, he guessed but at the moment he didn’t mind that so much.

   Kyungsoo obviously didn’t have a problem either; his hands were already working open Jongin’s pants with a furious commitment to getting them open as soon as humanly possible. Jongin was content to lie cradled comfortably between the two and be taken care of.

   He looked up at Kyungsoo with a sweet smile and patted his cheek softly, pleased with the elder’s efforts. “Thank you, hyung~”

   Chanyeol loved the way he’d almost sang it, sounding totally innocent and so much like his normal self. It went straight to his dick. Jongin smirked at him and winked when he groaned a little in response. He knew Jongin knew what he was doing but _damn_ the kid was hot as hell.

   Kyungsoo had Jongin’s dick out and in hand before Chanyeol even knew what had happened. Wanting to join in and do his part, he dragged Jongin’s pants and underwear off and tossed them aside before lifting the younger’s lower half more fully onto his lap.

   “Take your pants off, they’ll only get in the way,” instructed Jongin, totally in command now and happy to be so. He looked back at Kyungsoo as well. “You too, hyung.”

   Jongin allowed them to set him down momentarily, taking hold of his dick and stroking lazily as he watched them both strip. It was a hell of a turn on – Jongin watching like that, touching himself so casually, confidently, while they got ready for him. They hurried back to the younger as quickly as they could, re-adjusting him between them.

   They took much the same position as before; Kyungsoo behind him and Chanyeol in front. This time, however, he was further up Chanyeol’s lap which meant his head was lower against Kyungsoo. He was lying more than sitting really; ass on Chanyeol’s lap and lower back on Kyungsoo’s; head tucked comfortably against Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Instead of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo directly facing each other, they were at more of an angle now. Jongin was inordinately comfortable with this arrangement and settled down happily.

   Kyungsoo easily wrapped an arm around the brunet’s waist for support, taking hold of his member once more, jerking him steadily. Chanyeol kneaded the younger’s thigh as he worked his fingers quickly in and out of his mouth, wetting them as much as possible and putting on a little show with his tongue for the other boys who were watching him keenly. When his digits were about as slick as they were going to get, he released them with a lewd little slurping noise which made Jongin whimper appreciatively and thrust up eagerly into Kyungsoo’s hand.

   “This okay?” Chanyeol asked the younger, raising his fingers. He didn’t know where Jongin might hide his lube but he doubted he’d keep it here in the living room and Chanyeol was in no mood to leave them for even a moment to hunt it down.

   “Uh huh,” moaned Jongin thickly, also strongly against any of them leaving the comfortable tangle of limbs they’d found themselves in. Jongin cleared his throat and wiggled his hips pointedly, urging the taller on faster.

   Readjusting the brunet’s hips slightly, Chanyeol gently pushed his legs further apart for a better view. Jongin eagerly put his flexibility as a dancer to good use, spreading obscenely wide for him, gazing up at Chanyeol with dark eyes the entire time.

   Chanyeol’s fingers worked diligently at his entrance, gently opening the younger up for him. Next time he’d be sure to have proper lube ready. Jongin didn’t really _need_ it, he’d had his fair share of experience – and given the typical impromptu nature of freshman hook-ups, lube was a luxury he’d made do without on plenty of occasions before when it was not readily available – but Chanyeol would like to spoil him at least that much, slick him up good before fucking his brains out.

   The trio had fallen into silence, the room filled only with their heavy breathing and the subtle sounds of their movements. Chanyeol’s eyes were mostly glued to his own fingers disappearing inside the tight ring of muscle, feeling as much as seeing the younger clenching around him as Jongin gave minute little thrusts up into Kyungsoo’s hand. Occasionally, his attention would be captured by Kyungsoo’s tight first curled around Jongin’s leaking shaft, pumping mercilessly.

   Equally, Kyungsoo’s attention was mostly focused on his own task, watching enraptured at the occasional slight twitches the member gave in his grasp, pre-come flowing freely by this point. His eyes would still wander sometimes, to the steady concentration on Chanyeol’s face as the taller performed his own task with just as much vigour. From this angle, Kyungsoo could not fully see Chanyeol’s fingers sliding into the brunet but he could see the rhythmic movements of his wrist and how the muscles in his forearm and bicep would flex hypnotically.

   Jongin was feeling sufficiently wrecked at this point, his gaze tending to wander, darting between various sights as a multitude of sensations bombarded him all at once. He spent some time staring down, biting his lips desperately, watching his cock get fisted, then switch between gazing at Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s focused faces.

   He moaned lowly when he eventually felt Kyungsoo pressing up firmly against his lower back, hard dick prodding him before a quick adjustment until the warm rigid length was flat against him, rolling into him slowly. Jongin let his eyes slip shut at the feeling, unconsciously starting to grind down on Chanyeol’s fingers, pushing the long digits even further inside himself.

   Chanyeol almost choked when Jongin started riding his fingers like a pro with a litany of utterly pornographic moans. Looking up, he noticed the way Kyungsoo was moving against the younger and realised the shorter boy must have started the whole grinding thing. Damn that was hot.

   “H-hey,” said Jongin, reaching out a hand to grope for the back of Chanyeol’s neck, other reaching behind to Kyungsoo’s to get their attention. “How about you two make out for a while? I’d kinda like to see that.”

   Both boys raised their eyebrows at the brunet, caught off guard by the request but Jongin simply looked each of them in the eyes smoulderingly in turn. He waited expectantly while Kyungsoo and Chanyeol looked up at each other silently. Chanyeol raised his eyebrows in silent question and Kyungsoo quirked his lips up in reply.

   Keeping Jongin safely cradled between them, Chanyeol moved forward and Kyungsoo moved out as far as possible without dislodging the brunet to meet in the middle. There was no foreplay or hesitation between them and their lips were sealed together in seconds.

   Kyungsoo had kept one hand on Jongin’s dick and cupped the back of Chanyeol’s neck with the other, holding the taller in place while he explored his mouth eagerly. As he was sucking Chanyeol’s tongue hard, he felt Jongin’s hand brush his own, gently urging him to let go of the brunet’s length. He let Jongin’s hand replace his own, instead tangling his now free hand in the back of Chanyeol’s hair, tugging lightly.

   Jongin watched on, captivated, as he stroked himself at the sight of the older boys all over each other.

   “Shit,” breathed Jongin helplessly. “You guys are so hot.”

   Chanyeol still had three fingers occupied inside Jongin and kept scissoring them distractedly, while his free hand moved to his own stiff member. He had to agree with Jongin: this _was_ pretty hot and he’d been working hard to make everybody else feel good. He rather thought he deserved to touch himself for a bit too.

   Kyungsoo was actually a really good kisser, something Chanyeol hadn’t anticipated, and he totally knew what he was doing. Chanyeol kept his pace slow; long, unhurried strokes of his shaft with only occasional rubbing over the head. If he jerked it liked he meant it at this point he would probably be in danger of coming too soon and that was something he definitely didn’t want.

   When he heard Jongin’s breathless praise he grinned against Kyungsoo’s lips before taking his bottom lip between his teeth, nipping just enough to excite Kyungsoo. They broke apart momentarily, needing a moment to breathe properly but stayed just a few inches apart, breathing warm puffs of air against one another.

   Kyungsoo held his gaze with dark eyes before his attention was caught by the hand still moving lazily on his arousal. Kyungsoo sucked in a sharp, barely audible breath, shiny, swollen lips twitching as he stared openly.

   “ _Fuck_ ,” he groaned.

   Chanyeol smiled indulgently, releasing his aching member to pull Kyungsoo back in by the back of his neck. He gave the shorter boy a slow, close-mouthed kiss before letting go again. His hand reached slowly down to Kyungsoo’s own member, which had been poking into Jongin’s side.

   Kyungsoo watched him in surprise as Chanyeol began to fondle him but made no move to stop him from doing so. The hand still in Chanyeol’s hair twisted almost painfully but was clearly permitting him to continue: which he did, of course. Chanyeol’s hand found a rhythm while his mouth found ways to occupy itself along Kyungsoo’s neck and shoulder. Kyungsoo’s hands held him in close while his own were busy.

   Kyungsoo had his head tipped back, giving Chanyeol free reign of his neck and chest, while he rolled his hips up to meet the other’s hand. He thumbed over the slit casually, grinning at Kyungsoo’s mindless growls of pleasure. He hadn’t pegged Kyungsoo as the growling type but he liked what he was hearing so far. Hearing Jongin’s pants and bit off curses, Chanyeol glanced back to him out the corner of his eye.

   Jongin was watching them intently, lips parted slightly, hand moving furiously now on his dick. When Chanyeol turned his head back to him and Jongin met his gaze, the younger swallowed thickly, licking his lips and let out a positively filthy moan that went straight to Chanyeol’s dick. Chanyeol winked at him teasingly before quickly curling his fingers on a particularly deep thrust, hitting the brunet’s prostate first try. Jongin cried out shamelessly, bucking up. That got Kyungsoo’s attention as well.

   “I’m really loving watching you two go at it and all, but maybe it can be my turn again now?” hinted Jongin with no subtly at all.

   “Sure thing, babe. If you think you’re ready for me, that is?” Chanyeol replied with a playful smirk.

   Jongin was already clambering out of their laps, rolling to get on his hands and knees. He whined softly when the movement pulled Chanyeol’s fingers out of him, leaving him unsatisfyingly empty.

   “I think I can handle it,” he grumbled impatiently. He wiggled his ass insistently at the elder. “While we’re young, hyung.”

   Chanyeol looked to Kyungsoo in mock offense. “Can you believe this disrespect? Honestly, kids these days.”

   Kyungsoo leant down to Jongin, amusement bright in his eyes.

   “Be patient, okay?” he said, pressing a soft kiss to the younger’s lips.

   “Yeah, it’s a virtue, haven’t you heard?” teased Chanyeol distractedly, as he pried apart Jongin’s cheeks and drooled a generous amount of spit over his entrance.

   If spit was all they had, he’d be better topping Jongin off quickly before going any further, the previous slickness from his fingers having almost completely dried up already. He worked two fingers back in hastily, pumping them quickly to work in the fresh saliva a bit more thoroughly, other hand holding Jongin in place by the hip.

   “C’mon, c’mon,” chanted Jongin sounding bratty, rocking back and forth urgently.

   “You should be careful, you’ll get awful carpet burn doing that,” quipped Chanyeol, totally unaffected by Jongin’s whining.

   “Let me help,” offered Kyungsoo, crawling over to Chanyeol.

   He cupped a hand to his mouth, collecting a liberal amount of spit. Chanyeol barely had time to raise his eyebrows in question before Kyungsoo’s hand was on him, slicking him up. Well this was new. Chanyeol had always thought of Kyungsoo as a good friend of his but he could honestly say they’d never been closer. To be fair, it would speed things along to have Kyungsoo get him ready whilst he prepared Jongin. Not to mention that it just felt really good to have Kyungsoo touching him.

   In no time at all, they were as prepped as they’d ever be and Chanyeol took his place behind Jongin’s presented ass. Kyungsoo returned to his position in front of the brunet.

   “Ready, sweetheart?” grinned Chanyeol, barely masking his own excitement as he pressed against Jongin’s entrance.

   Jongin looked back at him from over his shoulder. His voice was rough and thick with need when he gave his next command. “Fuck me so hard the neighbours can hear.”

   Chanyeol growled appreciatively as he thrust fully into Jongin, making the younger scream as he was shoved forwards almost headbutting Kyungsoo’s stomach. Chanyeol kept rocking his hips powerfully, gripping Jongin’s hips hard to keep him from being pushed across the carpet. Jongin bucked back on him with every thrust, moaning loudly enough that the neighbours would _definitely_ be complaining in the morning.

   “Fuck,” breathed Kyungsoo, drinking in the sight of the other two boys going at it.

   Kyungsoo took hold of his own member, feeling just as desperate to get involved as the others, and forced his length roughly past Jongin’s willing lips. The younger took him all the way to the back of his throat on the first try, moaning obscenely around him like it was all he’d wanted to do.

   Jongin sucked hard on his dick with a ferocity Kyungsoo had never seen from the brunet before, as though the younger’s only goal at the moment was to push him over the edge as quickly as possible. His tightly sealed lips dragged back and forth quickly along the shaft, his tongue doing things Kyungsoo had never even _considered_ before. Jongin grunted around him as he tried to force Kyungsoo deeper, all the while still receiving one hell of a pounding from Chanyeol.

   Stray spit had made the brunet’s swollen lips and chin shiny; something that Kyungsoo would’ve probably found a bit unappealing on anybody else but on Jongin and in this moment he found it simply added to the overwhelming tension in his gut. This kid really was something else.

   Kyungsoo watched himself disappearing into that flawless mouth, captivated by the intense focus in those dark eyes, shivering pleasantly at the onslaught of muffled sounds vibrating through him from the younger’s mouth. It was all too much and there was no way he’d be able to last much longer.

   Kyungsoo brushed a gentle hand adoringly through the younger’s hair.

   “So perfect,” he breathed.

   Jongin looked back up at him through his bangs, big brown puppy eyes under thick lashes, and hummed, delighted by the praise. He leaned his head just slightly into Kyungsoo’s hand and continued to watch the elder fall apart as he proceeded.

   Chanyeol’s pace was hard and fast and relentless. There was no reason to do it any other way, not this time. Not when they’d all waited so long and wanted it so badly. He wasn’t holding anything back now that he was _so_ close. From how hard Jongin was slamming back onto him with every thrust, it was obvious the younger shared the sentiment. There would be plenty of opportunities to go slow and savour it in the future. Well, he couldn’t see any of them turning down any future opportunities at this point anyway.

   Chanyeol was switching his attention periodically between watching Jongin take his cock like a pro and Kyungsoo’s reactions to having Jongin suck his dick. It was something he would _definitely_ need to try at some point. Of course, they’d done that before but watching Kyungsoo falling apart as he was now – it just looked like so much _more_ than anything they might’ve done before. He’d bet a hefty sum that Kyungsoo would love to try out his position as well sometime.

   He looked back to Jongin; head bobbing rapidly on Kyungsoo, ass meeting his every push forward without fail; whole body rocking back and forth between the two elder boys. Chanyeol had to give him credit for his stamina. Jongin probably had the most physically demanding role out of all of them and he was fulfilling it beautifully. He praised Jongin’s major as a dancer for his athletic ability.

   Chanyeol thought Jongin’s hard work deserved a little recognition. He reached around the younger’s hips and took a firm hold of Jongin’s dick, starting up a solid jerking motion. Jongin reacted immediately, his carefully cultivated rhythm stuttering out of sync at the new assault of sensation.

   Chanyeol chuckled under his breath at the incoherent mumbling that made its way out around Kyungsoo’s dick. Kyungsoo also smiled down at the younger in amusement, stroking his cheek affectionately. Jongin fought hard to regain his rhythm, starting up again with his rocking motion and managed to get some of it back. It was a little more disjointed as he neared the edge, Chanyeol’s hand dragging him closer with every stroke.

   Kyungsoo’s teeth tore into his bottom lip as he felt the familiar coiling in his groin. Jongin had clamped his lips around him even tighter, sucking him like a vacuum in an attempt to muffle his own pleasured moans and it was more than Kyungsoo could handle at this point.

   “Fuck, fuck, _fuck!”_ he groaned out, barely able to form the words, intelligent as they were.

   His hips stuttered forwards powerfully one last time before he was shooting his load down Jongin’s throat, riding out his high with slow, mindless rolls of his hips, unable to even think anymore.

   Jongin took everything Kyungsoo had to give, swallowing it all eagerly. A moan tore through him and around Kyungsoo’s softening cock as his mouth was filled, the elder reaching completion seemingly all he needed to come crashing over the edge as well. His hips bucked forwards of their own accord, covering the carpet and Chanyeol’s fingers in his cum in the process. He kept moaning helplessly as wave after wave of his release washed over him.

   Chanyeol didn’t stand a chance when Jongin suddenly clenched _hard_ around him. He didn’t even realise what was about to happen, having missed Kyungsoo’s orgasm. One minute he was jerking Jongin, the next the younger was trembling in his grasp and his fingers were coated, hot and sticky, and now he was buried in Jongin’s impossibly tight ass, coming hard with a shocked gasp.

   It took a full few minutes for Chanyeol to come back down and get his mind to even attempt working properly again.

   “Fuck me,” he breathed. Well, it was a start.

   He gently pulled out of Jongin, who had half collapsed on the floor. The younger’s arms had gone out from under him and if he hadn’t turned his face aside, he would’ve been eating carpet right now. His ass was stuck halfway up in the air from where Chanyeol had left it. It probably couldn’t have been that comfortable but Jongin didn’t much seem to mind for the time being. He looked tired but comfortable enough.

   “Maybe in ten,” breathed Kyungsoo sarcastically. He looked pretty worn out too, sat back on his hands, head hanging back.

   “Wow,” mumbled Jongin, voice a little shaky. It seemed to be all he was capable of contributing at the moment but adequately summed up how they were all feeling. His lips moved silently after a moment, perhaps trying for something more. “Wow.”

   Chanyeol grinned to himself at the sight of a wide-eyed unintelligible Jongin sprawled on the floor.

   _‘Talk about fucking someone’s brains out. Man, wait till I tell Baekhyun. This totally beats him eating pancakes off Sehun’s ass!’_

 

  

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned, Sebaek came first. This three-way relationship was more of a side ship in the first fic, and Sebaek is the side ship here. If you haven't read the first part, check it out if you feel like it - some things might make more sense. I've tried to tie them in together so they kind of match up time wise.
> 
> Anyway, little to no experience writing threesomes so forgive me if it's not very good. any pointers are appreciated!
> 
> Just wrote this for the few who'd been interested to see what happened with these three boys in the Sebaek story. Got a couple more ideas for other couples and more Sebaek that would be in this AU, so no promises it'll come fast, but if you liked this keep an eye out for more parts in the series! :)


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